Wife watches as husband killed by car

Police believe speed and driver behaviour were the main factors for the crash. Photo / Thinkstock

Debbie Armstrong watched as a car rushed past her and ploughed into her husband David, killing him.

The couple were cycling along State Highway 36 at Pyes Pa in Tauranga and had briefly stopped on the side of the busy road about midday on Sunday when the car sped around the corner and hit the 50-year-old father of two.

Police believe speed and driver behaviour were the main factors for the crash.

Mrs Armstrong suffered minor injuries and was yesterday recovering at her mother's house at Mt Maunganui, while Mr Armstrong died at the scene.

Their two children Jared, 20, and Melissa, 22, were on holiday from university and had spent time with their parents in Bethlehem over the Christmas break.

Melissa had just farewelled her parents to return to Dunedin, while Jared was due to head back to Wellington to look for a flat. It is understood the children have returned to be with their mother.

A friend of the Armstrongs said the couple were keen recreational cyclists and Mr Armstrong regularly cycled with a group of cycling mates on Saturday mornings.

Yesterday staff and customers at Turners & Growers, where Mr Armstrong had worked for 30 years, were grieving for the well-respected northern manager for the transport division.

Turners & Growers general manager of human resources Delys Tansley said he was extremely well known and would be hugely missed by not only colleagues, but suppliers and the transport industry.

"They [staff] are not coping well. They are pretty shocked. We have been talking with his guys in Tauranga who are particularly upset. His co-workers were also personal friends and also close to David's family ... they are trying to get to grips with the loss of a friend so suddenly."

Mr Armstrong had planned to leave Turners & Growers at the end of the month so he could spend more time in Tauranga with his family as he had been commuting to Auckland.