Council worker killed in crash

The Hawke’s Bay Regional Council staff member who died in a four-wheel drive workplace accident in Central Hawke’s Bay was a father of two young children.

Regional council senior resource technician Michael Francis Taylor, 44, was killed on a rural farm in Ashley Clinton on the night of March 24 after a vehicle he was travelling in left a farm track and rolled.

The alarm was raised on the Friday night after Mr Taylor failed to show up and his vehicle tracker was not moving.

Regional Council chairman Rex Graham said Mr Taylor had called the office as he was leaving the worksite and that was the last they had heard from him.

Mr Graham said Mr Taylor was married with two young children and a young wife who were understandably “distraught”.

“They’ve lost their father and husband, who didn’t come home from work. When you send your husband off to work you expect them to come home.”

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council resource management group manager Iain Maxwell said Mr Taylor was a senior resource technician who worked in the hydro team and monitored river levels throughout Hawke’s Bay.

Mr Maxwell said the council’s focus would now be on supporting the family and council staff.

“He was our staff member so his family is our family. We’ll be doing everything we can to get them [the family] back on their feet,” Mr Graham said.

Apolice spokeswoman said the death had been referred to the coroner.

AWorkSafe New Zealand spokesperson said they were making preliminary inquiries to establish whether they would investigate the incident. The accident came just eight days after 38-year-old Hone Tamati Whaanga of Gisborne died in aworkrelated forestry incident in the Whatatutu area of Gisborne on March 16.

The incident had been referred to the Coroner and Worksafe New Zealand.

Statistics drawn from Worksafe New Zealand indicated this death could be the first workplace fatality in Hawke’s Bay this year, with three deaths recorded for both 2015 and 2016.