The Waikato's most senior road policing officer says for a teenager to lose his life in avoidable circumstances just hours after Police issued a warning about speeds makes his loss all the more tragic.
Road Policing Manager, Inspector Freda Grace, said Police yesterday highlighted some of the ridiculous speeds her officers had found vehicles travelling at in an attempt to get drivers to think about the risks.
"Sadly instead, about 12 hours later, emergency services were called to yet another road fatality. This one occurred in wet conditions at about 1.30am on Fullerton Rd northwest of Te Kuiti.
"The crash is currently under investigation by the Serious Crash Unit however initial indications on what happened is a Subaru Forrester car driven by a 17-year-old man was travelling along Fullerton Rd when he has lost control and crossed the centreline before rolling on to its roof."
Mrs Grace said the unlicensed driver died in the crash and his death was all the more tragic in that it may have been avoided had he been wearing a seat belt.
"The other two passengers in the car, a 16-year-old female rear seat passenger and a 16-year-old male front seat passenger were both restrained and though injured, survived the crash.
"The girl was airlifted to Waikato Hospital with status two injuries while the boy was taken to the same hospital by ambulance with status three injuries."
Mrs Grace said had it not been for the occupants of another car the Subaru was believed to have been travelling with; things could have been a lot worse.
"It appears the occupants of the other vehicle have noticed the Subaru was missing and gone back to check where it was. Finding the car crashed and on its roof these people have then raised the alarm. Had they not done so it is likely to have been several hours before the Subaru would have been found.
"One of the really sad things about today's crash is it happened about 1km from the victim's home. It just goes to show the risks on our roads are the same no matter if you're on a long journey or just heading down the road."
With inclement weather forecast for the next few days Mrs Grace said it was important drivers drove to the conditions which didn't just mean climatic conditions but their level of experience and traffic volumes.
"We're just weeks out from Christmas and here we have a family struck down by tragedy. In expressing our sympathies to the driver's family for their loss it is imperative that we all do what we can to ensure other families aren't missing loved ones this festive season by driving to survive."
End