‘Absolute carnage’: Police speak about horrific crash that killed seven near Picton
‘‘In a blink of an eye, seven lives are gone,’’ a police chief has told media following a horrific crash near Picton.
The horror crash that killed seven people from one family, including a baby, left emergency services in ‘‘disbelief’’ yesterday.
The deadly crash between a van and a refrigerated goods truck – the worst in the South Island in more than two decades – happened on State Highway 1 between Blenheim and Picton about 7.30am.
The driver of the truck suffered minor injuries and had been released from hospital by yesterday evening, according to Big Chill Distribution, which owned the truck.
‘‘We have been devastated to hear of the accident this morning and our condolences go out to the families of those affected,’’ chief executive Michael Roberts said in a statement yesterday evening.
‘‘We are and will continue to work with our contractors and the police to assist while they carry out the investigation. Our immediate focus at this stage is providing assistance and ongoing support to the driver who has now been released from hospital.’’
The highway remained closed throughout the afternoon while emergency services were at the scene, including the police serious crash unit.
Local iwi attended the crash site yesterday evening to perform a blessing, a Stuff journalist at the scene said.
Speaking to media yesterday afternoon, Tasman district commander Inspector Paul Borrell said it was ‘‘absolute carnage’’.
Marlborough area commander Inspector Simon Feltham said it was ‘‘a horrific thing’’ for emergency services to deal with.
For one police officer, it was their third day on the job.
Staff that attended the scene were receiving support.
Investigations are still under way but early indications were that the van likely crossed the centreline before the collision with the truck, Borrell said.
Feltham added that it was too early to speculate and police would be looking at the range of factors involved.
Seven people from a family, including a baby that was under the age of 1, died in the collision.
Two people from the van suffered critical and serious injuries, while the truck driver had minor injuries.
Borrell said disaster victim identification staff were at the crash scene.
‘‘Any death on our roads is a tragedy, let alone multiple fatalities in one crash,’’ he said in a statement. ‘‘A crash of this scale has a huge impact on both the community where it happens, that of the deceased’s family and community, and on emergency services who attend.’’
Picton chief fire officer Wayne Wytenburg said the scene was ‘‘absolutely horrific’’.
His crew had to help remove people from both the truck and the van. ‘‘It is still really sinking in . . . it is very, very sad. Every emergency service person there was a professional doing their job but you could see in their faces the disbelief.’’
Wytenburg said he held a health and safety debrief with his team immediately after their response, and all emergency staff who attended would go to a more in-depth workshop today to help them deal with the trauma.
‘‘As a brigade, our condolences go to the families affected by this tragic event.’’
Wytenburg urged people to take care on the roads.
‘‘We keep harping on about the Road to Zero road toll campaign, and we have got to take it seriously.’’
He would be working on public education messages ahead of the long Matariki weekend, he said.