Frantic rush to help can't save driver

A 27-year-old Napier man died at the scene after the truck he was driving smashed into a tree on SH2 yesterday. Photo / Warren Buckland

Bystanders scrambled to help a trapped Napier man before he died. But he did not survive his truck slamming into a tree yesterday.

Hawke's Bay Road Policing Senior Sergeant Greg Brown said the truck hit a large Norfolk pine on State Highway 2, Awatoto, about 400 metres south of Ellison St.

The vehicle landed on its side, clear of the road, with its driver, 27, trapped inside. Firefighters cut the man free but he died at the scene despite efforts to resuscitate him.

The incident happened during peak-hour traffic about 3.15pm.

Te Awa Ave resident Margaret Ferguson, who saw the crash from her home, described seeing bystanders scramble to help the man in the wreckage.

"All of a sudden he went straight into the tree. The impact of the truck hitting a tree sounded like a cannon going off.

"I ran out my back gate and over the train tracks. They couldn't get him out of the truck.

"A lady said she was a registered nurse. She just held his head up through the window and kept talking to him and telling him to focus on her. I take my hat off to that lady.

"By the time they got him out and into the ambulance they were doing CPR on him.

"I can still see his face," she said. "This is something that will live with me."

Mr Brown said speed was not a factor in the crash and no other vehicles were involved.

The police serious crash unit would investigate, with a focus on whether driver fatigue, distraction, or a medical event had contributed to the crash.

The highway was closed between Ellison St and Awatoto Rd for about three hours, requiring diversions during rush-hour traffic.

The driver's identity was known and police would release his name after his family had been notified.

The death would be referred to the coroner.