‘We did everything we could’
A first responder at the scene of Saturday’s fatal motorcycle crash in Waipawa said thosewho stopped and tried to save the rider “gave it their all”.
Thewoman, a trained first aider who did not want to be named, was travelling south on State Highway 2 towards Waipawa about 11.40am on Saturday.
She came over a brow of the hill and saw the crash scene with a motorcycle wedged in a trailer’s drawbar.
“Therewas a car and trailer, it looked like it was travelling north and had attempted to turn right into a driveway,” she said.
“The motorcycle was wedged into the drawbar between the car and trailer. The rider wasa few metres further on.”
The witness said she immediately stopped her car and ran to help, before another first aid-trained person, whoworked in hospital administration, arrived, assessed the man and began performing CPR.
Soon after, the pair was joined by a nurse and two medical students, who all took it in turns to perform CPR for roughly 35 minutes.
“We did everything we could ,” she said. “The Otane Volunteer Fire Brigade arrived with adefibrillator and then St John Ambulance arrived. Wewere still doing CPR.”
Despite the best efforts of those present, the motorcyclist, whohas yet to be formally named by police, died.
Heis the third motorbike rider to die in amonth on Hawke’s Bay roads.
The first responder said when it became clear the man had not survived, one of the women who had tried to help began to break down.
“It was very traumatic,” she said.