Remote road has a dangerous history

Residents living on a remote road which has seen two fatal accidents in six years say there are many more near misses on the steep, narrow route.

Pryor Lee, of Greymouth, 36, died in Nelson Hospital more than 24 hours after crashing on Te Towaka-Port Ligar Rd in a remote part of the Marlborough Sounds.

This followed the death of local farmer Tim Shand, 63, who died in 2013 when his four-wheel-drive left the narrow cliffside road and plunged 200 metres.

Resident and digger driver Michael Brennan said he was often called to drag cars, trucks and caravans back onto the road after crashes.

‘‘There was a real spate of them around Christmas, I think there was one every week for about four weeks,’’ he said.

Brennan has been running Waitata Bay Lodge in the Pelorus Sound for 33 years, but also works as a contractor and owns diggers and trucks. He had helped about 35 people who had nearly gone off the road during that time, he said.

‘‘A lot of them are tourists who just get too close to the edge,’’ Brennan said. ‘‘A lot of people have been very lucky, they’ve walked away from it.’’

The cars which went over the edge and got ‘‘hooked up on a tree’’ were the fortunate ones, he said.

Since the recent fatal crash, Brennan had been concerned that there was hardly any sign of crushed foliage or bushes, to show that a vehicle had gone over the edge.

‘‘Somebody could drive off the road and it could be days before anyone notices,’’ he said.