U-turn kills mum, dad and two children
TWO children their mother and father were killed instantly in what police say was a ‘‘catastrophic event’’ on State Highway 1 near Whangarei yesterday.
An 8-year-old boy, the only survivor, was in the intensive care unit in Northland Hospital in Whangarei in a satisfactory condition.
Northland road policing manager Inspector Murray Hodson said they believed the accident was due to an error of judgment and not speed, which is the usual cause of accidents in the high-risk area.
The four-wheel-drive black vehicle did a U-turn in front of a large logging truck at Uretiti, just north of Waipu.
The truck driver is also in hospital with shock and non-life threatening injuries.
The deaths come before the start of the official holiday road toll period.
Authorities were alerted to the crash at 12.55 pm.
Both vehicles were north, Hodson said.
The car, with the family of five people, had pulled over to the side of the road and stopped. From debris thrown from the car, the family had been packed for a beach holiday.
‘‘Our inquiries have established that the four deceased were in a vehicle undertaking a U-turn,’’ he said.
‘‘While they were doing it, a northbound truck carrying logs crashed into them.’’
travelling
From debris thrown from the car, the family had been packed for a beach holiday.
Hodson said the road conditions were good. The stretch of road has a 100kmh limit and he believed the truck was doing around 90kmh.
‘‘Based on the information that has been provided to us by witnesses, the probable causation of this one is error of judgment and the failure to determine that there were vehicles behind.
‘‘Speed is not a causation of this crash.’’
The road is long, straight and wide but continues to be afflicted by crashes.
‘‘It is a high-risk crash location, but the common causation along that road has predominately been speed, not usually error of judg- ment,’’ Hodson said.
‘‘One of the messages I have got, and I am not speculating on this particular crash or causation, but if you miss your turnoff, you’re not sure where you need to be, pull off to a safe layby and determine your destination, then make sure there is no traffic left or right,’’ Hudson said.
The accident occurred outside the farm of Leonore Hanna, who described the car as flattened and upside down when she first saw it.
‘‘There is a completely smashed car with only its wheels showing,’’ she said.
‘‘We have had a few, but this is the worst ever.’’
Hanna said the highway at that point was a double passing lane and the accident did not take place at the beginning or end of the lanes.
Inspector Chris Robinson said emergency services found the scene was ‘‘chaos’’ and ‘‘just a horrendous thing’’.