As friends of a 37-year-old Dannevirke truck driver mourn the loss of their good mate, police say an investigation into the death is likely to take several weeks.
The Serious Crash Unit is investigating the cause of the accident in which Frederick Thomas Nathan was killed when the truck he was driving failed to negotiate a slight bend in the road and smashed into the Bulls RSA building on SH1 in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Mr Nathan was a relief driver for Retko Logistics and was on a return trip from Auckland, with a load of pressurised oxygen cylinders, acetylene and LPG.
His truck and trailer unit became lodged under the verandah of the RSA with trusses and studs crashing through the top of the cab which was punctured by a steel girder.
Emergency services staff responding to the callout had to wait several minutes for the power to be disconnected before they could remove Mr Nathan from the vehicle and despite CPR by emergency services, he died at the scene.