Woman killed by truck on road near Kinleith

A woman has died after being struck by a truck in the South Waikato.

The pedestrian was hit by a vehicle on State Highway 1 at Kinleith at 1.15am on Tuesday, a police spokeswoman said. She died at the scene. The highway south of Tokoroa was closed for a time but has since reopened.

It appeared the woman was walking along the southbound lane of the highway when she was hit 200 metres south of Matarawa Rd.

When two fire trucks from Tokoroa arrived, police and ambulance were already at the scene, Tokoroa Fire Chief Dave Morris said.

He could not see the truck involved as it had come to a stop around a bend at the southern end of the collision.

There are few houses along the

‘‘The police Serious Crash Unit is investigating.’’

rural stretch of highway where the collision occurred, Morris said, not far from the Kinleith Mill.

It was a major trucking route, especially in the forestry industry, through the central North Island.

The police Serious Crash Unit is investigating.

On Boxing Day last year, two people died in a head-on smash on the same stretch of highway outside the golf course, 4km south of Tokoroa.

Three others in the crash - two men and a woman - were hospitalised with serious injuries.

The collision comes a day after a double fatal accident near Huntly.