Road death sparks calls for speed limit change

Turakina residents want the speed limit reduced in their town following the death on Monday night of a man hit by a truck.

Roz Spratt and Mark Griffin have asked authorities to do something about the "outrageous" speeds of vehicles going through Turakina on State Highway 3. The highway speed limit is 70km/h and they want it reduced to 50km/h.

Ms Spratt said the death of the pedestrian on Monday bore out their concerns. The man killed by the truck at the SH3/Wanganui Road intersection was Anthony Shramka, 27, from Wanganui, police said yesterday.

He died soon after being hit by a loaded truck and trailer unit just after 10pm. Emergency services and other traffic clogged the town for several hours until the site was cleared.

The death was just what Ms Spratt and Mr Griffin had feared.

The town had primary school children crossing the state highway, and getting in and out of school buses, they said. The Wanganui Road intersection and the petrol station also posed risks next to such a busy road.

"The traffic comes through at outrageous speeds, especially trucks. At night trucks seem to go faster," Ms Spratt said.

On Tuesday Whanganui Police spoke to the driver of the truck that killed Mr Shramka. They are still speaking to other witnesses and the Serious Crash Unit is also still investigating.