Motorcylist likely died on impact - police

KILLED: A motorcyclist died when the bike he was riding slid across the road into the path of an oncoming van on SH 50, near Maraekakaho, yesterday. PHOTO / PAUL TAYLOR

Police say a motorcyclist likely died on impact when he slid into the path of an oncoming van on State Highway 50 in Hawke's Bay yesterday.

Hawke's Bay Road Policing Senior Sergeant Greg Brown said the 30-year-old man was travelling north on the highway along a winding stretch of road known as Clarkson's Hill, when it appeared he had lost control.

"He's come out of a moderate corner, slid across the road and been collected by a van travelling in the opposite direction. The driver of the van did everything they could to avoid him, but it's just one of those things."

Emergency services responded to the crash about 2.15pm.

St John Hawke's Bay district-operations manager Stephen Smith said when a road ambulance and the Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter arrived at the crash scene, the man had already died.

"The patient was found deceased at the scene."

Fire service crews from Hastings and Tikokino also descended on the crash location, which was about 6km south of Salisbury Rd, near Maraekakaho.

Both lanes of the highway were closed for about three hours following the incident, with traffic diversions in place while the Police Serious Crash Unit carried out a scene examination.

Mr Brown said the motorcyclist was not local and police were not willing to release his name or where he was from until his family had been notified.

He was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.

There were five adults and a small child in the van, who were all unhurt in the crash. They had been travelling to Wellington but had since changed their plans.

To help with their investigation, police wanted to speak to the driver of a green ute who was passed by the red road bike before the crash.

Five of the 20 deaths on Hawke's Bay roads last year were motorcyclists.

"[Motorcyclists] are always a vulnerable road user group due to the lack of protection bikes offer," Mr Brown said.

The man's death brings the region's road toll for this year to two, after a 68-year-old man visiting the country from Scotland died on Waimarama Rd earlier this month.

Meanwhile, a motorcyclist who crashed into a fence at Clifton at the weekend remains in a serious condition. The man, in his 30s, was reportedly riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle when he clipped a gatepost on Saturday.

It's understood he was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.

A hospital spokesman said he was transferred from Hawke's Bay Hospital to Auckland City Hospital yesterday.