Two killed, 13 injured in highway bus crash

Seven people died, including two in a bus crash, in a grim weekend on the country's roads.

The driver and a passenger were killed when an InterCity bus smashed into a bank and rolled on State Highway 3 in south Taranaki.

They were Alan James Johnston, aged 61, of Palmerston North, and Joyce Dorothy Sirett, 77, of New Plymouth.

Another 13 people were injured in the crash, which happened about noon on Saturday on Whenuakura hill, 10km south of Patea.

The bus, travelling north between Wanganui and New Plymouth, went out of control on a sweeping bend, veered across the road and hit a grassy bank, finishing up on its side.

Six ambulances attended and rescue helicopters from New Plymouth and Palmerston North were brought in.

The highway was closed for 11 hours.

Four people were still in hospital in Palmerston North and Wanganui yesterday.

Detective Senior Sergeant Warren Smith said witnesses were still being interviewed and experts would examine the bus tomorrow. A reconstruction would also be done this week.



Also on Saturday, Raymond Leslie Simes, 40, was killed when his fully laden milk tanker rolled on a bend near his home town of Te Awamutu about 10 pm.

Mr Simes was thrown from the truck in the crash. No other vehicles were involved in the accident.

Yesterday morning, an 18-year-old motorcyclist was found dead near his crashed machine on State Highway 12, 6km south of Dargaville.

Police, called to the scene at 10 am, said it was not clear when the accident occurred.

It appeared that the motorcycle left the road rounding a gentle right-hand bend near Bradley's Landing.

Just after 3 pm on Saturday, one person was killed in a head-on crash near Puhoi, 15km south of Warkworth.

Three people injured in the smash were taken to Auckland Hospital, police said. Two were in a serious but stable condition and the third was in a moderate condition.

Early on Saturday, Matthew Dixon, 17, of Rotorua, died when he was hit by a car while walking near Rotorua Airport.

About 1.35 that morning, Marinda Jane Koster, 35, of Canvastown, died when her car crashed off the road between Canvastown and Havelock, 41km northwest of Blenheim.

- NZPA