Dad dies in rider's sidecar crash

Erwin Tree and his father Ronnie are well-known in the sport. Photo / Facebook

A dad was killed while riding in the sidecar of a speedway motorbike driven by his son during a practice run yesterday.

The accident happened about 2pm at the Oreti Park Speedway track at Invercargill on a "have a go" day.

The dead man is believed to be Ronnie Tree, 59, who was being driven by his son Erwin Tree, a rising star in the sport who runs a local motorbike racing team.

Cory Varcoe, a friend of Erwin's, arrived at the race track minutes after the fatal accident.

"I was told the axle broke on the bike when they went into a corner and the frame dropped to the ground," Varcoe said. "Apparently this caused the sidecar to slip and it acted like a catapult.

"Ronnie was thrown off and hit the wall. I'm not sure if he died at the scene or when he got to hospital."

Varcoe added dad Ronnie was an experienced sidecar swinger.

"Both Ronnie and Erwin are very well known on the scene and I can't imagine what Erwin and the family must be going through," Varcoe said.

"It was a freak accident and as the speedway community in Invercargill is very tight, it will hit everyone really hard."

Speedway New Zealand president David Jones said an Auckland investigator had been sent to Oreti Park.

"This was a very tragic accident and the speedway community is grieving with the family," Jones said.

"We have sent an investigator to the scene to ensure our rules and regulations were met."

Invercargill police said they were investigating the crash.