Holiday road toll up after smash
South Canterbury collision brings fatal tally to seven
The summer holiday road toll last night stood at seven, following a crash that claimed two lives. Two people, believed to be the drivers of the two cars involved, died at the scene of the smash on State Highway 1 several kilometres north of the Waitaki River in South Canterbury.
The fatal collision happened about 8.30am yesterday — around the same time as a car crashed through a timber fence in suburban Auckland, and several hours before another two-car crash in Canterbury sent six people to hospital.
Six people were also rushed to hospital, three with serious injuries, after a crash on Redoubt Rd in South Auckland's Goodwood heights about 6pm yesterday.
The first of the South Canterbury crashes, in the Glenavy locality, led to a diversion of vehicles around the site.
The later Canterbury crash happened at 11.40am at the intersection of State Highway 1 and Orari Station Rd, at Orari, 20km north of Timaru.
Police said at least two people were seriously injured and St John Ambulance said four others were taken to hospital with moderately-serious injuries. The road was blocked for more than an hour and the state highway was closed between Rangitata and Timaru.
In southeast Auckland’s Cockle Bay, resident Heath Moore was woken by a bang as a silver Toyota Corolla sedan crashed through his timber-paling fence.
“Around 8.30 this morning I was inside sleeping. We heard this massive bang and so we raced outside and a guy [had] come around the corner in his car and ploughed straight through the fence.”
Moore said it was lucky no children were playing in the yard at the time.
“We have three to four kids staying with us, it could have been them.
“Somebody could have died, somebody could have been injured,” Moore said.
Police were speaking to the driver yesterday.
The holiday road toll period this year started at 4pm Friday and ends at 6am on January 3. The fatal crashes prior to yesterday’s South Canterbury fatal collision were:
Jie Hu, a 23-year-old from Rotorua, died in a three car pile-up on SH5 near Hamurana in Rotorua on Sunday.
A person was killed Sunday on Pourerere Rd in central Hawke’s Bay after a car rolled down a bank.
Boney Biju died on his way home from his 21st birthday party when his car left the road and struck a tree near Hanmer Springs on Christmas Eve.
Fijian national Lalita Devi was a passenger in a car that crashed on SH14 at Maungatapere on Saturday.
On Friday taxi driver Abdul Raheem Fahad Syed, 29, died in central Auckland when his car was hit by another.