Cambridge crash: Another fatal crash in same spot where two died just weeks earlier

SH1 near Hickey Rd south of Cambridge has been closed for the second time in less than a month due to another fatal crash. Photo / Caitlan Johnston

A stretch of SH1 in the Waikato dubbed a "death trap" has claimed another life this morning - just weeks after two other people died in a crash involving an ambulance.

Waipa's Deputy mayor says the latest tragedy has highlighted roading bosses have to take "swift action" to improve road safety in the area, while another local says the condition of the main route and the traffic flow using it made it unsafe.

The crash involving a truck and a van occurred around 4.53am on State Highway 1 south of Cambridge near Hickey Rd.

Police said one person died at the scene and a second person was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

Diversions are in place on SH1, but motorists travelling on the diversion route are facing lengthy delays due to a slip.

SH1 KARAPIRO – 6:10AM
Due to a serious crash #SH1 is now closed between Cambridge and Karapiro. Follow the detour and expect delays. This section of road is likely to stay closed for some time this morning as a crash investigation takes place. Detour: https://t.co/ITBkWt90um. ^MF pic.twitter.com/oDY6VyVqOe

— Waka Kotahi NZTA Waikato/BoP (@WakaKotahiWaiBP) October 4, 2022

Northbound traffic is being diverted at Karapiro Rd and southbound traffic is being diverted at Victoria Rd.

Traffic on the diversion route has been slowed by a slip which has reduced the route to one lane.

The stretch of the Waikato road had recently been labelled a "death trap" by the regional Chamber of Commerce.

Waipa's deputy mayor Liz Stolwyk says lack of action from Waka Kotahi to make safety improvements to SH1 between Karapiro and Piarere has cost too many lives.

Stolwyk passed on her condolences to the family of this morning's crash victim and said the incident was exceptionally concerning.

"It's probably fair to say that we have, as a council, been lobbying Waka Kotahi for a number of years because there is no question that this particular piece of road is actually causing huge amounts of stress among our community members and the lack of action from Waka Kotahi has cost lives and serious injuries for a long long time.

"Yet again with this morning's news, Cambridge has really just run out of patience.

"The number of incidents and accidents there that have caused loss of lives is just mounting up now and it's not okay anymore, we need some swift action from Waka Kotahi as soon as possible."

Two people died in a head-on crash between a car and an ambulance on the same stretch of road weeks ago.

The driver of the car died at the scene while the driver of the ambulance later died in hospital.

The scene of the crash on State Highway 1 near Cambridge last month. Photo / Caitlan Johnston

Dan Ohs, from St John, said the ambulance officer who died was from Rotorua and was driving the ambulance from Hamilton to Rotorua with a registered nurse who is now in stable condition in Waikato Hospital.

There were no other people in the ambulance.

Ohs said the St John team were "devastated" and "grieving the loss of one of our own".

"What we can confirm is that the ambulance officer was a well-respected and long-serving member of the Hato Hone St John whānau.

"They are one of a very small number of ambulance officers to lose their life in the line of duty in New Zealand in the last 80 years."

In an earlier report, chief executive of the Waikato Chamber of Commerce Don Good told the Herald that stretch of the road had claimed "an unacceptable number of lives".

"Road users, local residents and Chambers have appealed for urgent action for the right safety measures to be put in place and have been ignored."

Waka Kotahi speed and infrastructure programme director Dave Van Standen said safety improvements were well under way for the road between Cambridge and Piarere.

Van Standen said several kilometres of median barriers had already been installed, including 2.4km from south of Ferguson Gully which had been hit 40 times since it was installed in 2020.

"That's 40 incidents which could have otherwise resulted in serious head-on crashes."

Just over 4km of median barrier was expected to be installed in the area in the 2022/23 construction season which runs until April.

Safety improvement designs for the 7.5km of road from the end of the Waikato Expressway to Fergusson Gully Rd were expected to be approved shortly, however, construction was not expected to begin before the 2023/24 summer.

Meanwhile, a Cambridge local who lives on SH1 near the site of today's fatal crash says they have been trying to sell their house for six years, but the road conditions deterred most buyers.

Melodee Tribe said she has been trying to sell the house since before Labour canned plans to extend the Waikato Expressway from Cambridge to Piarere.

At the time, Tribe said she was in discussion with NZTA Waka Kotahi and believed they were going to be purchasing the property to make way for the Expressway.

Tribe had even sold all her stock in preparation.

"We were definitely talking to them and definitely ready to sell our property when it just stopped," said Tribe.

In her most recent efforts to sell the home, Tribe was instructed by NZTA Waka Kotahi to list the home on the market for 90 days before going back to them.

It's now been on the market for six weeks.

"We have only had one buyer who has not liked the property because they didn't like the house, everybody else has got concerns about either how busy the road is or the unknown about how long they'll own it for before they are forced to be bought out by NZTA," she said.

"If it doesn't sell on the open market because of the road then we can go back and talk to them.

"They have said that once designation is in place, if it doesn't sell then they have a legal obligation to buy our place but my understanding is that the designation is not finalised yet."

Tribe, who has lived at the SH1 property for 17 years, said the road had become unsafe because of the volume of traffic travelling along it.

"It's just got busier and busier, our kids used to go to Karapiro School and it was never a big deal to drop them off at school and bring them back home again. Now, getting out our driveway and coming back in again is not an easy task."