'Gave it our all': First-aiders tried to save rider who died in Waipawa crash

A first responder at the scene of Saturday's fatal motorcycle crash in Waipawa said CPR was performed for more than half an hour. Photo / Paul Taylor

A first responder at the scene of Saturday's fatal motorcycle crash in Waipawa said those who stopped and tried to save the rider "gave it their all".

The woman, a trained first aider who did not want to be named, was travelling south on State Highway 2 towards Waipawa about 11.40am on Saturday.

She came over a brow of the hill and saw the crash scene – a motorcycle wedged in a trailer's drawbar.

"There was a car and trailer, it looked like it was travelling north and had attempted to turn right into a driveway," she said.

"The motorcycle was wedged into the drawbar between the car and trailer. The rider was a few metres further on."

A male motorcyclist was killed after a crash on State Highway 2, near Waipawa, Central Hawke's Bay, about 11.40am on Saturday. Photo / Rachel Wise

The witness said she immediately stopped her car and ran to help, before another first aid-trained person, who worked in hospital administration, arrived, assessed the man and began performing CPR.

Soon after, the pair was joined by a nurse and two medical students, who all took it in turns to perform CPR for roughly 35 minutes.

"We did everything we could," she said.

"The Otane Volunteer Fire Brigade arrived with a defibrillator and then St John Ambulance arrived. We were still doing CPR."

Despite the best efforts of those present, the motorcyclist, who has yet to be formally named by police, died.

He is the third motorbike rider to die in a month on Hawke's Bay roads.

The first responder said when it became clear the man had not survived, one of the women who had tried to help began to break down.

"It was very traumatic," she said.

Police inquiries into the crash are ongoing.