Mourning one of their own
STAFF at the Cardrona Alpine Resort have been left devastated by the death of a loved colleague and friend just days before opening day.
Tom Campbell was killed when the vehicle he was in went off the Mai Mai Creek bridge on the Haast Highway, near Karangarua, about 5pm on Wednesday.
Mr Campbell had worked as a snow groomer at the skifield for the past six years and was travelling to Wanaka to take part in staff training yesterday.
Cardrona general manager Bridget Legnavsky said every one who worked at Cardrona was devastated by the death of Mr Campbell, who was not just a loved member of staff but also a role model to many of his colleagues.
Not only was he extremely good as his job but he was loved by the skiers and snowboarders at Cardrona for always seeking their feedback on his grooming, Ms Legnavsky said.
‘‘He was a great partier, a hard case, just a really inspirational guy.’’
A tribute was posted on the resort’s Facebook page with a photo of Mr Campbell’s colleagues spelling out his initials surrounded by grooming equipment.
Mai Mai Creek is about 500m south of the Karangarua River bridge on State Highway 6.
Police said there was nothing the emergency services attending the crash could do as Mr Campbell was dead when found.
The police serious crash unit was examining the scene today.
Fox Glacier Volunteer Fire Brigade fire chief John Sullivan told Fairfax the spot was ‘‘notorious’’. It was the third crash on the bridge in the past 15 months.
The broken wooden siderails had still not been replaced after the last crash there six months ago.
‘‘It’s a bad spot because [motorists] come down a hill on to this onelane bridge and you’re looking straight into the setting sun,’’ Mr Sullivan said.
New Zealand Transport Agency regional performance manager Pete Connors confirmed the rail was damaged in a recent crash.
‘‘The transport agency is currently designing permanent side protection to replace the wooden rails for this bridge,’’ Mr Connors said.
The bridge’s speed limit had been reduced to 30kmh until the work is completed.
NZTA would review the safety of the bridge today to see if any additional measures could be taken until the new side protection was installed later this year, he said.