Police: Waikato crash victims not wearing seat belts

Photo / file

Two men killed in a car crash on the outskirts of Hamilton last week could still be alive if they had been wearing seat belts, say police.

John Wayne Edwards, 26, of Hamilton and Hadleigh Brendon Robinson, 21, of Te Kowhai, northwest of the city, were today named as the victims of the State Highway 39 crash on Thursday night.

They died when a car driven by Mr Edwards collided with a utility vehicle going in the opposite direction.

The cause was still being investigated by the Serious Crash Unit, acting Waikato road policing manager, Senior Sergeant Jeff Penno said today.

"But initial indications are the speed the vehicle was travelling at in the wet conditions played a major factor in the crash. Neither man was wearing a seat belt which contributed to their non-survivable injuries," he said.

It was disturbing that 11 people who were not wearing seat belts died on the roads last year and eight have died in similar circumstances so far this year, police said.

Mr Penno said seat belts were a proven, basic safety measure.

Waikato police said last week they were bringing in extra staff from around the North Island to patrol its roads because of the large number of fatal accidents.

- NZPA