Residents amazed at raised speed limit

Residents near the dangerous bend are amazed the speed limit is being raised. Photo / Supplied

Police are appealing for witnesses after a head-on road crash near Pukekohe left a woman dead and eight people injured.

They want to hear from anyone who saw a yellow Mazda Altenza car or blue-green Honda Odyssey people-mover in the area of the two-car crash, on Buckland Road about four kilometres north of Tuakau early yesterday afternoon.

A 55-year old woman front-seat passenger of the Mazda died at the scene, on a dangerous bend where nearby residents are amazed a recommended speed limit was raised after a fiery head-on smash in 2009 in which four people were killed.

Two young boys, aged six months and four years, were airlifted to Starship with serious injuries from the latest crash, and five people were taken in ambulances to Middlemore Hospital with moderate or minor injuries. An eighth was assessed at the scene but not hospitalised.

The Counties-Manukau police meanwhile believe the Mazda lost control while travelling south through the bend just before 12.30pm yesterday, crossing the road's centre-line into the path of the northbound Honda.

They are asking anyone with information to contact a crash investigator, Constable Amy Weston, on 09-2156118, or provide details anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800-555111.

The two boys, who were travelling in the Honda, are meanwhile reported to be in stable conditions at Starship.

So are two remaining patients at Middlemore, from where at least two others have been discharged.

The condition of the fifth patient taken there by ambulance is unclear, as Middlemore believes that person may have been transferred to
Auckland City Hospital.

According to the police, there were five occupants of each car, including children aged seven and 15 in the Mazda.

A man who arrived at the crash site while four ambulances and two helicopters were ferrying the victims to the hospitals said the Mazda and Honda were "absolutely annihilated" after spinning around and becoming wedged parallel to one another in a hedge.

Nearby resident Michael Montgomery said the bend was renowned for its crashes, including the 2009 collision, and became slippery in wet conditions such as yesterday's.

He said the recommended speed limit for the bend was raised from 65km/h to 75km/h after the 2009 crash, to the amazement of residents.

"They [the authorities] astonishingly increased the speed of the corner, which is bizarre, after that crash," he told the Herald.

He was unaware of any improvements made to the road.

Another neighbour said the more recent opening of a landfill on a lane intersecting the bend meant trucks left a considerable amount of loose gravel on the road.

Additional reporting by Sophie Ryan