Rescue helicopters at the scene of a serious crash near Ōtaki this evening. Photo / Mark Smith
Emergency services are responding to a serious crash that has closed State Highway 1 near Ōtaki this evening.
Waka Kotahi NZTA said SH1 was closed near the intersection of Forrest Lakes Rd.
Fire and Emergency NZ sent two crews when it was alerted at 6.19pm.
The transport agency asked motorists to avoid the area or delay their journey.
Waka Kotahi received reports of the crash and told motorists to expect delays and drive with care.
It follows several crashes today, including an earlier accident near Mt Hutt in Canterbury which left one person dead.
Emergency services responded to that crash about 2pm, at the intersection with Arundel Rakaia Gorge Rd.
Inquiries into the crash are ongoing.
Police received a report of another car hitting a bank on the side of the road and coming off the Remutaka Hill. The driver in this crash “hasn’t suffered any life-threatening injuries”, a police spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, emergency services have been called to a serious crash after a car hit a power pole near Balclutha.
A police spokeswoman said police were called to reports of the crash in Stirling Rd, Balclutha, about 6.05pm.
One person, who appeared to be the only occupant of the vehicle, had serious injuries, she said.
A spokesperson for St John said one person had been taken to Dunedin Hospital by helicopter.
The serious crash unit had been notified.
Meanwhile, State Highway 1-Tirau Rd has reopened after another crash on a notorious stretch of the road near Karapiro this afternoon.
The Herald understands one person was seriously injured after the two-vehicle collision south of Cambridge about 2pm, near the SH1 intersection with Kentucky Rd.
The section of road has earlier been called a “death trap” after claiming a life earlier this month - just weeks after two other people died in a crash involving an ambulance.
A reporter said traffic was backed up towards Tirau about 5.30pm, with both lanes of SH1 closed.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency said the state highway was closed between SH29 and Karapiro Rd.
Motorists were asked to take alternate routes through Karapiro Rd.
Waipa’s deputy mayor Liz Stolwyk said the tragic crash earlier on October 5 highlighted the need for roading bosses 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 made it unsafe.
Stolwyk passed on her condolences to the family of the 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.
“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 last month.
In an earlier report, Don Good, chief executive of the Waikato Chamber of Commerce, told the Herald that the stretch of 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 underway for the road between Cambridge and Piarere.
Van Standen said several kilometres of median barriers had already been installed, including a 2.4km section 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.
- with ODT
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