Car hits slip: One dead after serious crash on SH2 south of Wairoa

The scene of the State Highway 2 fatality south of Wairoa on Sunday, a slip between the town and Awamate Rd. Photo / Paul Taylor

One person has died and one has been seriously injured in a crash on State Highway 2 south of Wairoa on Sunday morning.

A car was reported to have collided with a slip blocking SH2 between The Crescent and Kiwi Valley Rd. It was reported about 4.40am, police said.

The Lowe Corporation Hawke’s Bay Rescue helicopter flew from Hastings and the service reported the deceased was in the vehicle on arrival, and four other who had been in the vehicle were taken by ambulance to Wairoa Hospital. One was later flown from Wairoa to Hawke’s Bay Hospital in Hastings.

Police said just before 10.30am that part of the highway remained closed but a detour was available Awamate Rd, which was reopened by mid-morning after being closed overnight by a slip near at the northern end near the intersection with SH38. It was the major road through northern Hawke’s Bay for many months after the SH2 Wairoa bridge was destroyed in Cyclone Bola in 1988.

The road was still closed after midday and police said work was continuing to partially clear the slip on SH2 so that one lane can reopen.

According to Ministry of Transport on-line statistics the fatality was the first on roads in the Wairoa District this year, and the 15th in the Hawke’s Bay Today circulation area from Wairoa to Tararua, the same as for 2022.

The crash happened amid a night of heavy rain in the Wairoa area with reports of up to 130mm in 24 hours, especially north of Wairoa.

A heavy rain warning was extended, with particular warnings about river levels, just under three weeks since heavy rain caused severe flooding in the district, particularly around Nuhaka and Mahia.

In the latest deluge, 130mm of rain had been recorded at Pukeorapa, inland from Nuhaka.