Army truck in fatal crash with car

‘‘It really gives me the horrors if I’m going down there with a tractor or something and people pass you.’’ Dave Stewart, who lives near crash site

A man has died in a car crash that also involved a soldier on a driver training course in an army truck near Palmerston North.

Emergency services rushed to the scene, where an army truck and car had collided, just before 10.30am on Thursday.

Police initially said the man, the driver of the car, suffered critical injuries, but later confirmed he died at the scene.

Another woman in the car was taken to Palmerston North Hospital. A hospital spokesman said she was in a stable condition in the hospital’s emergency department.

The crash happened at the corner of Watershed and Ashhurst roads, between Ashhurst and Bunnythorpe.

A New Zealand Defence Force spokeswoman said two people were in the army truck – a soldier on a driver training course and an instructor.

Neither of the truck’s occupants was injured.

A man, who did not wish to be named, said he came across the crash five minutes after it happened. He said a car towing a trailer had been pushed off the road and was sitting in front of the truck in a paddock.

Ashhurst Rd was closed after the crash. Diversions were in place at Kelvin Grove and Grove roads, and the Watershed Rd and Reid Line East intersection.

The police serious crash unit is investigating.

Dave Stewart, who lives near the corner, said the piece of road was known to have problems.

If you wanted to turn off Ashhurst Rd at any of the intersections, there was no pull-off areas and the road was well used. ‘‘It’s a major trucking route for Taranaki, Hawke’s Bay. It’s been a real lack of planning.’’

He used the road frequently and said it caused a lot of concerns.

‘‘There’s always someone going off there.

‘‘It really gives me the horrors if I’m going down there with a tractor or something and people pass you. There’s no yellow lines there.’’

Stewart said the intersection had been discussed at a recent Hiwinui community committee meeting.