Quad bike accident victim named

The Marton man who died in a quad bike accident on Monday was Matthew Beaven, 41.

Marton police are investigating the accident, which happened on farmland off Tutaenui Road at about 10.30am.

A local said Mr Beaven, who was previously in the Air Force, was using an automatic quad bike on the farm and was going down hill when the accident happened.

He had a spray unit on the bike which was full of liquid, and was towing a trailer which is also believed to have had containers of liquid.

Marton fire chief Paul Whitehead said Mr Beaven was dead when he arrived at the scene.

Mr Whitehead said Mr Beaven was a farm worker.

Sergeant Peter Wood confirmed Mr Beaven was towing a trailer but could not speak on any of the other details.

He was expecting post-mortem examination results to be ready soon.

Police and the Palmerston North Rescue Helicopter attended the scene, with local emergency services.

Work Safe New Zealand is investigating the accident.

Mr Beaven was also known for his position captaining the Wanganui representative cricket team around 2005.