Ute driver dies along notoriously dangerous stretch of road
"The two vehicles collided which resulted in a cyclist being hit by the truck." Highway Patrol supervisor Alan Trow
One person has died after a crash on the notoriously dangerous stretch of State Highway 3 just north of Bell Block.
A portion of the highway was closed after a ute, a light truck and a cyclist collided yesterday morning about 300 metres south of the intersection of Airport Dr and Devon Rd.
Highway Patrol supervisor Allan Trow said a light truck had been heading towards New Plymouth and an ute had been heading towards Waitara.
‘‘The two vehicles collided which resulted in a cyclist being hit by the truck,’’ he said.
‘‘The driver of the ute has passed away.’’
The cyclist and truck driver were assessed by St John paramedics at the scene.
As a result of the crash the truck ended up in a ditch on the westbound side of SH3 where a power pole had been knocked down, cutting off power to dozens of Bell Block properties.
The smashed-up white ute was about 30 metres away in the west bound lane and smashed glass and debris covered much of the road.
The Police Serious Crash Unit was called to investigate the incident and a section of the state highway was closed while the investigation took place.
Diversions were put in place at Corbett Rd and De Havilland Dr, near Bell Block.
The death is the sixth fatality on Taranaki roads this year and takes the 2017 national road toll to
323, already exceeding last year’s toll by 48.
The crash occurred on the notoriously dangerous stretch of road between Bell Block and Waitara and in a similar spot to where Rachael and Pamela Smith died in
2015.
In January 2013 the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) introduced a temporary speed of 80 kilometres an hour along the portion of highway and last year the limit was made permanent.
In 2014 three intersections along the stretch were ranked on the NZTA’s 100 most dangerous, with Mangati Rd ranked 8th, Princess St ranked 18th and Raleigh St ranked 64th.
Last year the highway was included in a $26 million government scheme to improve the safety on 10 of the North Island’s worst carriageways, work that was expected to take up to two years.
As part of the investigation phase, residents of Waitara and Bell Block received a letter from the NZTA asking for their input.
In the letter NZTA principal planner Simon Barnett said the stretch of road had seen 25 deaths or serious injuries from car crashes in the five years from 2010 to 2014.