A tragic road crash in the Hawke’s Bay town of Wairoa has left a baby dead and two children hospitalised after a school bus collided with a car on Tuesday afternoon.
According to a report by Chris Marriner and Shilpy Arora Gaikwad of Stuff, the incident occurred at the intersection of Black St and Achilles St shortly after 2.45 pm. Emergency services responded to the crash, which involved three vehicles. A baby travelling in the car died at the scene, while three others were taken to the hospital, including two children. Passengers on the bus suffered only minor injuries.
Wairoa Mayor Craig Little said the community was deeply affected by the incident and that he had spoken with the baby’s whānau and the bus driver’s family. All of them were “struggling,” he said.
“He’s an amazing man,” Little said of the baby’s father, who was not in the car when it was struck by the bus. “It’s just killing him at the moment,” Stuff has quoted.
Little said the driver was “absolutely devastated” by the crash and was being supported by family. He added that he would not speculate on the cause but had spoken with first responders who indicated the driver may have “had a medical event,” as quoted by Stuff.
The grandmother of one of the two boys on the bus said her grandson had been riding the bus for the first time to his new school when the crash happened. Rhonda Archer, speaking from Australia, said the boys were the only passengers on the minibus when it left Wairoa College shortly after 2.45 pm, noting that school had finished at 2.30 pm and the bus was running late.
“When they got on the bus, they noticed that the bus driver looked either tired or sick,” she said, describing how the boys looked up shortly after the journey started, claiming the driver was “slumped over the steering wheel,” as quoted by Stuff.
Archer said her grandson believed the bus would stop as it approached the car, “but it didn’t happen, he hit the car”. The boys were thrown from their seats, she said, Stuff has reported.
Go Bus chief operating officer Ben Barlow confirmed one of the company’s vehicles was involved in the crash.
“Our thoughts are with the family and loved ones of the person who has passed away, and with those involved during this extremely difficult time,” he said, as quoted by Stuff.
“The circumstances surrounding the incident are under active investigation, and we are fully cooperating with the police as they carry out their inquiries.
“We are also supporting our team members and everyone involved, while the investigation continues.”
The crash has shaken the close-knit Wairoa community. Little said on Wednesday that the town was “devastated” and that everyone involved in the crash was local.
“It’s a unique town, literally everyone gets on and knows each other through some way,” the mayor said, Stuff has quoted.
“So you’ve got the people involved in the crash, you’ve got the people who attended the scene straight away.
“And then all the police and the ambulance and fire, everything is just, it’s just horrible,” as quoted by Stuff.
Police said no arrests had been made, and initial inquiries found the school bus had a driver and two passengers on board. A Hato Hone St John spokesperson said three patients were transported to Wairoa Hospital by road, one in critical condition, one in serious condition, and one in moderate condition, Stuff has reported.
The intersection where Black St meets Achilles St, part of State Highway Two, is controlled by a stop sign on Black St.