The scene where a vehicle left State Highway 2 near Wahipai Reserve, just north of Dannevirke, in the first of two fatal crashes in the area within 18 hours. Photo / Doug Laing
The scene where a vehicle left State Highway 2 near Wahipai Reserve, just north of Dannevirke, in the first of two fatal crashes in the area within 18 hours. Photo / Doug Laing
Two people have died in separate daylight crashes in and near Dannevirke, just 18 hours apart with less than a kilometre between the two scenes.
Each happened in clear conditions, the first about 4.20pm on Friday when a vehicle left a State Highway bend near Wahipai Reserve, just north ofDannevirke, and crashed down a small bank into trees and bush. One occupant died, police said.
The second happened about 9.30am on Saturday when a vehicle and a moped collided a few hundred metres to the south of a High St stretch of SH2 between the Hospital St and the Dannevirke showgrounds, where the town’s annual A&P Show was in progress.
Police said a person who had been riding the moped was injured and airlifted to hospital, but had died.
Show and other traffic travelling from there was detoured for about two and a half hours via Hospital and Guy sts, but access to the showgrounds from the south was not disrupted and northbound traffic otherwise detoured via Cole and Guy sts.
According to Ministry of Transport online statistics, the provisional nationwide road toll to Saturday night was 24, a third down on the 2022 tally of 36 at the same stage of the year.
