Lucas Sven Halgren was found dead yesterday in Mt Cook National Park. Police believe he crashed his motorbike. Photo/ NZ Police
Lucas Sven Halgren was found dead yesterday in Mt Cook National Park. Police believe he crashed his motorbike. Photo/ NZ Police
An American motoryclist was found dead with his crashed motorbike two days after he left a hotel, and failed to turn up for work the next morning.
His death near Mt Cook brought the holiday road toll to 13.
American man, Lucas Sven Halgren, 24, who was working in New Zealand, was found dead on Tasman Valley Rd in the Mt Cook National Park yesterday afternoon.
Police had put out a public appeal for sightings of him about 4.30pm yesterday and then at 8.30pm said he'd been found, but did not say he was dead until this morning.
Halgren was a staff member at Glacier Explorers, activity operators based in Aoraki Mount Cook Alpine Village.
The Glacier Explorers guide and Alpine Village resident was last seen in the early evening on December 27 after leaving a friend's accommodation on his motorbike.
He and his colleagues had finished work early for the day due to inclement weather.
After several attempts to find the 24-year old male, staff at Glacier Explorers contacted the local authorities early on December 29 whereupon an investigation was launched.
Aoraki Mount Cook Alpine Village Ltd Tourism Manager Bede Ward said he and staff throughout the village are saddened by the events.
"This is a very difficult time for family and friends and our deepest thoughts are with them at this time.
"We have all been hoping we would find Sven somewhere in relative safety," he said.
"He has been employed with us for two months and was a much-liked employee."
Counselling services were being offered to staff.
Halgren's motorcycle, which he was found with. Photo/ NZ Police
Halgren was from the United States, but had lived and worked in New Zealand for some time.
He shared his New Zealand adventures with friends on Facebook, and last month posted posted a link to a story about New Zealand being named the best place in the world to live, commenting: "I literally live in this picture".
The Serious Crash Unit was investigating but no other vehicles were believed to have been involved, police said.
The toll is now more than last year's entire holiday period five days before the official period comes to an end.
Police said yesterday they were extremely disappointed with the grim holiday road toll, saying all the fatal crashes were avoidable.
National road policing manager Steve Greally said he was perplexed the toll has suddenly shot up in such a short time and concerned motorcyclists made up a third of the fatalities.
"It's horrific," said Greally.
"For whatever reason people seem to have left their common sense at home. I'm just not sure why.
"It doesn't matter how disappointed I am there, are families across New Zealand ripped apart by this."
Holiday road crash victims
• Lucas Sven Halgren, 24, was found dead on Tasman Valley Rd in the Mt Cook National Park yesterday afternoon.
• Scott Alexander Mackenzie, 37, died after a motorcycle crash in Cromwell at 6am yesterday.
• Andrew Reinders, 53, from Wellington, died in hospital on Wednesday after the car he was driving collided with a milk tanker in Hawera.
• Jason Lilly, 46, of Christchurch died in a crash at Pukerau, near Gore, while on his motorcycle on December 27.
• Teenagers Cole Troy Hull, Samuel James Drost and Lily Frances Moore were killed in a crash near Leeston, early Monday. The car was being driven at high speed by an unlicensed 14-year-old boy, when it became airborne and smashed into a macrocarpa hedge, narrowly missing a concrete power pole.
• Motorcylist Jonathan Mark Sattrup, 25, of Dannevirke died at the scene after a collision with a car on Napier Rd in Ashhurst, Manawatu, on Boxing Day.
• Tyler Te Ruru Ahurei Davis, 2, was run over in a driveway in Te Kauwhata on Boxing Day. The toddler died on a public driveway, which meant the death is included in the official road toll.
• A double fatality on Christmas Eve claimed the lives of Sione Taumalolo, 11, and Talita Moimoi, 33, when the bus they were in crashed down a 100m bank in Gisborne.
• The first fatality of the holiday period was Myung Wha Lim, 83, who died after being hit by a car in Takapuna on December 23.
The official holiday road period began at 4pm on December 23, and runs until 6am on January 4.
Last year's Christmas road toll was 12, from 244 reported injury crashes.
