Rubberneckers add to crash chaos

The motorcycle rider suffered critical head injuries. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Rubberneckers and unco-operative pedestrians frustrated police as they attended a serious crash at a busy Hamilton intersection.

An officer was nearly run down, one person argued he should be allowed through the accident site to get a coffee and 27 people were asked to leave the "grisly" scene, police said.

Emergency services were called at 1pm yesterday to a collision between a car and motorcycle near the intersection of Anglesea and Rostrevor Sts.

A woman was trapped in the car with minor injuries and the male motorcyclist had critical head injuries.

Acting Sergeant Myles O'Donnell said a cordon was set up around the crash scene, but distracted motorists put police officers' safety at risk and pedestrians disrupted the investigation.

"We had one woman nearly run down an officer wearing a hi-vis vest as she was looking at the crash scene while talking on her cellphone and driving," he said.

"About 27 people had to be asked to leave what was quite a grisly scene, with one man exiting a cafe trying to take photos and another arguing he should be allowed to walk through the scene to go and get a coffee."

Mr O'Donnell said although the investigation might have been an inconvenience, people needed to consider the seriousness of the situation police were dealing with.

Cordons were needed so investigators could do their work in a sanitised area and ensure the integrity of the scene, he said.

"Often small pieces of debris that may be key to their investigations are thrown several metres away, as was the case today, and people walking through the scene can disturb this evidence."

- NZPA