21 January 2008
Investigators will today return to the scene of a crash that claimed the life of a Glenn Massey man near Ngaruawahia overnight.
The crash happened outside the town on Waingaro Rd shortly after 5pm.
Waikato Road Policing Manager, Inspector Leo Tooman, said initial indications raised concerns in regards to the road worthiness of the scooter.
"It appears the rear tyre has given out resulting in the 27-year-old male rider losing control and crossing into the path of an oncoming Isuzu Mu 4x4 vehicle.
"The crash happened on a 100km/h stretch of road in good weather thus there is little in the way of climatic or environmental factors to consider, it appears this was simply a case of lack of serviceability of the scooter resulting in an avoidable loss of life."
Last night's crash raises the number of people killed on Waikato roads this year to six compared to one for the same period last year.
Mr Tooman urged the public to take a step back, and lift the foot of the accelerator on the region's roads, particularly with the forthcoming holiday weekend.
"This weekend we have the Parachute Music Festival at Mystery Creek, the Tribal Pride Festival at Hopu Hopu and a large gathering at the Meremere Drag Strip for the Rotary Nationals.
"Each of these events is going to result in large traffic flows to and from the venues putting pressure on our roading networks so we're asking people to exercise patience out there and plan their trips accordingly," he said.
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