Injured victim in fatal crash still fighting for life

A person critically injured in a crash over the weekend is still clinging to life.

A 65-year-old woman holidaying in Hawke's Bay from Scotland remains in a serious condition in hospital after a Friday car crash on Waimarama Rd, east of Hastings, that killed her husband and also injured the couple's daughter.

Police yesterday named the dead man as 68-year-old Scottish national Richard Webster Harbinson.

He was the driver of the car, which had been heading towards Havelock North at the time of the smash.

Mr Harbinson and his wife were in New Zealand visiting their daughter, who lives in Havelock North.

Police said Mr Harbinson died as a result of injuries he suffered after the vehicle crossed the centre line as he attempted to negotiate a bend in the road, clipped an oncoming vehicle and then spun off the road, crashing into a tree.

Mrs Harbinson and the Harbinsons' 29-year-old daughter both suffered serious injuries.

Mrs Harbinson was still in a serious condition in Hawke's Bay Hospital's intensive care unit yesterday.

The daughter, however, was in a stable condition in one of the hospital's wards.

The police's eastern serious crash unit is continuing to investigate the incident.

But police said yesterday speed did not appear to have been a factor in the smash.

"This is a tragedy for the family involved and a sad way to start the year off on Hawke's Bay roads," Senior Sergeant Clint Adamson of the police eastern district command centre said.

"Police would like to remind all drivers to take care as they travel around our district and to remember the basics - travel at a safe speed for the conditions, wear your seatbelts, don't drink and drive, and take a break if you are feeling tired."