‘Devastating’
A newborn baby was among the six people who died yesterday in a head-on crash near Waverley in Taranaki. Inspector David White said the tragic toll — the worst on New Zealand roads in 13 years — was “just unbelievable and just devastating for all those involved.” Police would not discuss the cause of the crash but warnings had been issued about icy roads in the area after four other crashes.
A horror crash that claimed the lives of six people, including a newborn baby, happened on a crisp and sunny winter’s day in South Taranaki when conditions on the road were good.
Emergency services were called to the two-car crash on State Highway 3, Waverley, just after 11am yesterday.
Police initially reported five people had been killed, but later confirmed that a sixth person — believed to be the newborn — had also died.
Four elderly people in one vehicle, heading north towards Hawera, died instantly.
A male driver of the second car with the newborn baby, heading south, died at the scene and a woman and an 8-year-old girl from the same vehicle were airlifted to Wellington and Waikato Hospitals, respectively. Both were in a critical condition. Earlier yesterday Taranaki police had warned drivers after four crashes caused by ice on roads in the area.
Police are still investigating the cause of the Waverley crash, the worst on the nation’s roads in 13 years.
The worst smash in New Zealand’s history was in 1963, when 15 people died in a bus crash in Northland.
In 1995 a house bus crash in Hawke’s Bay killed eight people. In 2005, nine people died in a collision between a tourist van and a truck in Matamata-Piako.
Since 1972 there have been 10 crashes involving six fatalities, including yesterday’s accident.
At the scene yesterday afternoon two vehicles could be seen on the road still — one of them covered with large pieces of tarpaulin.
The other car’s windows had blown out and the front of it was crumpled.
Central District road policing manager Inspector David White had one word for it: Devastating.
Acknowledging the fine day around him, he said: “That this happened on a day like today is just unbelievable and just devastating for all those involved.”
He said emergency crews from St John, Fire and Emergency and police at the scene would be offered support given what they had seen.
“Dealing with a crash like this today, with six people dead, is just devastating. There are no other words for it, really.
“A lot of our staff have young families and having to deal with that is not pleasant. But our thoughts are with their families first — they’re the ones who have actually lost the baby.”
White also paid tribute to those who were first at the scene, including members of the public who did what they could to help and alerted authorities.
“I really want to thank those who were first at the scene for their prompt action — coming across what must’ve been an absolutely horrible scene,” he said.
A local woman told the Whanganui Chronicle she had left work about 500m from the crash and described the scene as “a mess”.
She said it appeared a vehicle had crossed the centre line and collided head-on with the second car.
The woman said the road was wet and slippery.
A staff member at the Waverley Four Square also described the road as wet and slippery, after a big frost yesterday morning. However, authorities later said conditions on the road were fine and dry.
The circumstances of the crash are now being investigated by the police serious crash unit.
Although officers were still working to determine various factors — including whether speed was one — what was clear was that the vehicles had collided head-on.
Authorities said earlier it appeared one of the vehicles had crossed the centre-line on a slight bend.
Police said they were working to contact the victims’ next of kin.
SH3 Waverley was closed for several hours after the crash and traffic was diverted. The road was reopened about 6pm.
Yesterday’s crash came after a truck driver was killed in an accident near Waverley on Monday.