Man dies in Whakamarama crash

UPDATE 7.15PM: A man has died after the vehicle he was in collided with a small truck on a Plummers Point Road corner in Whakamarama this evening.

The crash happened on the road, near Bruntwood Drive, about 5.15pm with a diversion through a private orchard put in place shortly after.


The crash scene on Plummers Point Road.

Tauranga Police Sergeant Scott Merritt confirms the front seat passenger of the vehicle, a man, has died at the scene while the driver and rear seat passenger have been transported to Tauranga Hospital with moderate injuries.

Western Bay of Plenty road policing Sergeant Nigel Ramsden, speaking to SunLive at the scene, says the collision occurred on a small corner with three men in the vehicle all sustaining injuries.

The vehicle was travelling towards State Highway 2 and the truck in the opposite direction leading up to the crash.

Nigel says it appears the vehicle has crossed the centre line into the path of the oncoming truck.

Mark Williams, one of the first on scene, says he and his wife came around the corner in their vehicle to be confronted by the crash.

Jumping out to assist he says the three men, believed to be in their early 20s, were in the Subaru station wagon.

He says the driver and back seat passenger managed to free themselves but the front seat passenger was trapped.

Serious crash unit investigators are at the scene.

Earlier:

A person remains trapped in a critical condition after a crash between a truck and car in Whakamarama.

The crash happened on Plummers Point Road, near Bruntwood Drive, this evening about 5.20pm.

Northern Fire Communications shift manager Scott Osmond confirms the passenger of the car remains trapped in the vehicle while the driver is out of the vehicle.

The passenger is trapped and in a critical condition while the driver suffered moderate injuries and the driver of the truck appears to be uninjured.

Firefighters from Omokoroa and Tauranga are on scene with the latter working to extricate the passenger, says Scott.

A Tauranga Police spokesperson says a diversion is currently in place through a private orchard that will direct motorists around the crash scene.

Motorist not needing to take this route are advised to take an alternative route if possible.

He advises there will be a delay to traffic with traffic going through the orchard being one way and will not be accessible to large trucks.

Motorist not needing to take this route are advised to take an alternative route if possible as it is expected the diversion will be in place for some time.

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5 comments

Disrespectful

Posted on 04-03-2015 20:54 | By Twinkle Toes

SunLive I really enjoy keeping up to date with news within Tauranga but I do not agree with how you go about breaking news on road accidents. It's clear you have a police scanner and go to all these accidents. This news is just over 1hr 30mins and here we have pictures of the car etc. I think it's time you start thinking of family and friends before you start putting up images like this. This isn't the first time this has happened.

Hi, and thanks for your comment. The nature of our site is to break news throughout the Bay of Plenty as and when it happens. Stories surrounding crashes are put out quickly and efficiently for a number of reasons, one of them being to inform the public of any expected delays on the region's roads and to assist the emergency services with regard to road closures etc. As such, we try and report any incidents as soon as possible. We have an excellent working relationship with the emergency services and we are often encouraged to use pictures from crash scenes in order to relay safety messages and demonstrate the dangers involved. Many thanks, SunLive.


Real Reporting

Posted on 05-03-2015 14:47 | By 2cents

I understand Twinkle Toes concern but the response from Sunlive is exactly right. We have a business on the main road and have people who live out that way. We see the police cars, ambulances and fire engines. We always check on Sunlive to find out if our people are going to be able to make it home. So we already know something is happening and it's severity is in direct relation to how many appliances fly by us. We are also concerned to see if it's anyone we know as it could happen to anyone at any time. I think I'd rather know ...


Agree with 2cents

Posted on 05-03-2015 15:27 | By nerak

Sunlive is simply doing what media does, but I believe often they are more sensitive than other media. I also prefer to know, via a photo, that it might not be one of mine, if he/she might be in the area. So I don't think Sunlive are disrespectful, just doing their work, and often I think they are not at a scene initially to take photos, but have some sent to them from bystanders. In a lot of these situations media are initially barred entry to a scene, for many different reasons.


Respectful

Posted on 05-03-2015 16:54 | By GreertonCynic

There are no identifying features posted, rego plates, etc...I would like to be informed about what is going on around the area.


I

Posted on 06-03-2015 01:42 | By Capt_Kaveman

Travel quite a lot and road delays information is good for me + photos and what the cause is always good too, its a good insight on what are driving our roads


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