Robyn Peters (nee Harper) died after a crash involving three motorcycles on State Highway 51, near Awatoto, about 11.45am on February 7. Photo / Paul Taylor
Two people have died in separate crashes in Hawke's Bay within four days.
One person died and two others were seriously injured after a single-vehicle crash in Twyford, near Hastings, yesterday.
Police received a report of the single-vehicle crash on Ormond Rd, aka Oak Ave, between Omahu and Evenden roads about 2.55pm.
The road was closed and motorists asked to avoid the area.
The crash came less than four days after Waipawa mother of two Robyn Olive Peters, 51, died in a three-bike crash on a charity motorbike ride on State Highway 51, near Awatoto, about 11.45am on February 7.
A service to celebrate Peters' life will be held at noon on Friday at 'Stonehaven' on Peel St, Waipukurau, followed by a private cremation.
A death notice printed in Hawke's Bay Today on Wednesday said she was a dearly-loved sister and mother of two.
Two other motorcyclists, who were also taking part in the SPCA fundraising ride called Paws for a Cause, suffered moderate injuries in the crash.
A Hawke's Bay District Health Board spokeswoman said the man and woman, both in their 60s, were in a stable condition in Hawke's Bay Hospital.
SPCA Hawke's Bay area manager Bruce Wills shared his condolences and wished a speedy recovery to the other two riders.
"It is with extreme sadness that SPCA offers heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the family and friends of a woman killed over the long weekend," he said.
"The charity fundraiser was organised by Paws for a Cause to raise funds for SPCA."
Peters' death was the first on Hawke's Bay roads this year.
Police will be conducting a debrief after initially going to the wrong highway.
A police spokeswoman told Hawke's Bay Today that officers had initially responded to State Highway 2, the Hawke's Bay Expressway.
In August 2019, the Hawke's Bay Expressway was officially changed to SH2, while the former SH2, between Napier and Hastings, became SH51.
The two highways switched numbers after Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency wanted to clear up confusion for motorists and better reflect the expressway as the "spine" of the Hawke's Bay roading network.
Waka Kotahi regional transport systems manager Oliver Postings said before the road name changes taking place, NZTA liaised with emergency services, councils and the freight industry, and communicated extensively with residents and the wider public.
"Signs were changed over on both the state highway and local road networks from August 2019 when the changes took effect," he added.
The police spokeswoman said officers travelling to the wrong location is often the result of the person who calls 111 being unfamiliar with an area or a lack of landmarks.
"While every effort is made to gain a precise location from those that need assistance, a small percentage are mislocated," she said.
"As with all fatal crashes on highways, a debrief will occur and any lessons learnt, good or bad, initiated to improve services."
A St John Ambulance spokeswoman said ambulance staff didn't have any issues locating the crash.
Hawke's Bay Fire and Emergency NZ area manager Ken Cooper said while uncommon for emergency services to go to the incorrect location, state highways in Hawke's Bay do cause issues from time to time.
"We're heavily reliant on the caller and people can be quite generic with their descriptions," he said.
"On highways, people will give us a reference point but tend to tell us places they passed 10 minutes ago. The challenge used to be tourists who didn't know the area - they might be able to say SH2, but wouldn't know geographically where."
Cooper said while emergency services occasionally use a callers GPS location to locate an incident, using maps and their own GPS systems can help.
As the crowd chanted, Seymour walked back into the Beehive with his MPs.