Road toll at 15 after fatal crash
This year’s road toll in Taranaki has climbed to 15 following yesterday morning’s fatal crash in which two people died.
Four others, including two youths, were critically or seriously injured in the twovehicle smash on State Highway 3, Main Rd North, in Motunui, north of Waitara.
The crash was reported about 1.30am and the response from emergency services saw the affected section of highway, between Turangi and Waiau Rds, closed to all traffic until about 10.45am, with diversions in place.
The Serious Crash Unit also attended to start its investigation.
Te Whatu Ora Taranaki confirmed a man in his 30s and a woman in her 20s were both in a serious condition.
The two others injured were described as youths, but details of their ages and gender were not provided.
Both were in a serious condition, with one treated in the emergency department, while the other was in intensive care.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand confirmed eight fire trucks were sent to the scene as part of its response, but all had left by 3.20am.
Taranaki Regional councillor Tom Cloke said the section of highway had not been identified as an area where safety improvements needed to be given high priority.
Cloke is one of the TRC’S two appointees to the SH3 Working Party, which represents users of the route as well as councils, including New Plymouth District Council, the police, the Road Transport Association and the Automobile Association. The other is Alan Jamieson.
Despite that particular area not being on the working party’s radar, Cloke was aware of a ‘‘number of incidents and accidents’’ over the years along the stretch between Waitara and Urenui.
‘‘Intersections are always a problem.’’
However, improving the ‘‘travel experience’’ for motorists along other parts of SH3 was on the agenda, which included work that was both feasible and focused on enhancing safety.
Cloke said the working party, which has Waka Kotahi representation, had recently developed a list of 55 projects between Urenui and Piopio that would cost about $80 million.
Meanwhile, the $82m safety improvement plan between Waitara and Bell Block is under way, which will eventually see roundabouts installed at highrisk intersections.
Murray Seamark, a member of the Clifton Community Board, which services north Taranaki
communities including Motunui, expressed sadness for the families of those involved. ‘‘Any road death is a tragedy,’’ he said.
The double fatality came less than a fortnight after cyclist Cameron Mckay, 56, died from injuries suffered after a collision involving a car on Gover St in New Plymouth on November 10.
According to records kept by the Taranaki Daily News, 132 people died on the region’s roads in the past 10 years.
Last year, the regional road toll reached four.
The worst incident in the past decade was the June 27, 2018 crash on State Highway 3 near Waverley, which claimed seven lives.
The provisional number of road deaths across New Zealand in 2022 currently sits at 333 people.