As they work to piece together the circumstances behind the district’s 14th motorcycle death of the year, a senior Waikato Police officer says investigators have more questions than answers on the cause of the crash.
Officer in charge of the Waikato Highway Patrol, Senior Sergeant Steve Ambler, said emergency services were called to the scene of a single motorcycle crash on SH28, Rapurapu Rd in Te Poi about 1.48pm yesterday.
“A 65-year-old Omanawa man, Raymond Allen Valere MORREEL, had been riding his Suzuki motorbike as part of a group heading west towards Rotorua when the group were rounding a left hand bend.
“For an as yet unknown reason, Mr MORREEL’S motorcycle has left the road and crashed through a farm fence. Attempts to revive Mr MORREEL by people at the scene were unsuccessful and a post-mortem examination will be conducted today to identify any issues of concern.”
Mr Ambler said it was too early to determine what the cause of the crash was and the matter is still under investigation by the Waikato Serious Crash Unit.
“At this point in time, on behalf of NZ Police I would like to extend our sympathies to Mr MORREEL’S friend and family, some of whom were at the scene of yesterday’s crash.
“While it’s too early to comment on specifics of this crash what I can share with you is that this was the 14th motorcycle fatality and the 42nd road fatality in the Waikato this year. Yesterday’s crash was also the 26th out of 39 fatal crashes where failing to keep in your lane or on the road was a contributing factor.”
Mr Ambler said with traffic flows to popular east and west coast holiday spots particularly busy, Waikato Police are asking people to be extra vigilant while travelling and to expect delays.
“Yesterday’s crash happened in ideal driving and riding conditions.
“It just goes to show you need to be prepared for the unexpected at anytime and anywhere and highlights the need for you to drive or ride in such a way as to be able to react in case others make a mistake.”
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