Plea to improve intersection after another fatality

SOUTH Canterbury locals are calling on the NZ Transport Agency to improve a notoriously bad intersection after another life was claimed on Wednesday.

One person died in a multivehicle crash at the intersection of TekapoTwizel Rd (State Highway 8) and Mt Cook Rd (State Highway 80) just after 3pm.

Two other people were seriously injured, and one moderately.

The person who died was the driver of a vehicle travelling on SH80 coming from Mt Cook.

The vehicle turned on to SH8, heading towards Twizel, and into the path of an oncoming vehicle. A third vehicle, travelling from Tekapo, was waiting at the intersection.

Paul Hannagan, a volunteer firefighter and Mackenzie district councillor, was one of the first responders at the crash.

‘‘It seemed to be a highimpact crash and there were car parts strewn all over the place,’’ he said.

Mr Hannagan said the crash was just one in a long list of serious accidents at the intersection and the second fatal he had attended.

‘‘It seems to be people coming off the Mt Cook Rd that are not used to looking left or right and pulling out into traffic which is doing 100kmh past there,’’ he said.

Mr Hannagan said ‘‘every local you talk to is concerned about the highway’’.

Last year, local school teacher Sandy Nelson launched a peti tion calling for changes to the intersection.

The petition called for the NZTA to change the giveway sign at the intersection to a stop sign and add a flashing warning sign to alert drivers.

Despite the petition getting more than 800 signatures, no action was taken.

Mackenzie Mayor Graham Smith said the latest death had renewed the appeal to make the road safer.

‘‘As mayor, I am particularly concerned that there has been a tragic accident and my sympathy goes out to the family and all those concerned,’’ he said.

‘‘I have put a couple of calls into NZTA at present, but they haven’t responded as of yet.’’

Mr Smith said a lot of tourists visited the area, which presented various road safety issues.

‘‘That is why our local residents are all reminded to drive very defensively on that road,’’ he said.

Mr Hannagan said whether the accident involved locals or not did not matter.