A crash that led to the death of three on a Waikato road has shocked the family and the community.
A woman and two children were killed in a car crash on Tuesday afternoon after their vehicle left Masters Road, a stretch near Waiuku in the Waikato region, and landed upside down in a creek, RNZ reported.
Emergency services were called to the scene around 3.30pm. Counties Manukau South Area Commander Inspector Jared Pirret confirmed all three occupants of the vehicle were found deceased.
“This incident will impact the tight-knit community in Waiuku, and I know people’s thoughts are with the families caught up in this event,” Pirret said.
He also acknowledged the emergency crews who attended the scene. “All emergency services deployed to the scene and worked together to carry out a rescue operation, and we acknowledge their professionalism.”
Police have confirmed the victims were an adult and two children. In a statement issued Wednesday, police said the grieving families are coming to terms with the “life-altering event” and have requested privacy.
“They do not wish to make any further comment at this stage,” the statement read.
Local residents say the crash site, on a section of road long referred to as “The Rollercoaster,” has been the scene of accidents.
Billy McLean, who lives and works nearby, said he was in his workshop when he heard the crash.
“It’s not the first time I’ve heard it. It’s not the first time it’s happened here,” RNZ quoted.
“I knew what it was straight away and just ran straight down there to find the car upside down in the ditch, unfortunately.”
McLean described the ditch as a deep culvert at the bottom of a hill, surrounded by wetlands.
“I tried my best to get them out and there was absolutely no way that that car was going to open,” RNZ quoted.
“There’s not much anyone could have done… being pinned upside down in mud that was so deep. It was like, a little bit of the bottom of the door and the chassis and the wheels exposed and the rest of the whole vehicle in mud.”
He added, “There’s not a hundred gorillas that could have torn the doors off that car… I tried. I tried my best but I’m not a hundred gorillas either.”
After racing back up his driveway to call 111, McLean said police arrived within minutes and also attempted, unsuccessfully, to access the SUV. The Waiuku Volunteer Fire Brigade then arrived at the scene.
McLean said the vehicle’s chassis appeared bent, and he believed it struck the culvert near his driveway and became airborne.
The road, which has a speed limit of 80km/h, is an alternative route to Pukekohe. McLean said while it had been raining earlier in the day, the weather had cleared by the time of the crash.
He also recalled another fatal crash in August 2023, which killed his best friend of 40 years, Daniel Dalgety.
“Honestly I fear that, every time I pull out of this driveway with my family now,” McLean told RNZ.
Frustrated by the inaction, McLean is calling for change.
“Do something. Do something... If they could start focusing those speed cameras on actual known death-trap sites… That would be a great start. This place here would be a good start.”
He described the crash spot as “an old-school BMX jump” and said the road had been “known for years” as ‘The Rollercoaster Road’.
Neighbour Jonathan Kuttner, who has lived on Masters Road for four decades, echoed McLean’s concerns.
Kuttner, a former GP, called the road a “death-trap” and said he had witnessed more than a dozen crashes since the road was straightened years ago.
“There’s a dangerous dip and bend in the road where speeding cars could fly off and land in a bog,” he said.
Kuttner told RNZ he had repeatedly raised concerns with authorities and called for a speed camera to be installed. The road, he said, is often used by drivers to speed, leading to numerous crashes and close calls.
The danger is such that Kuttner only turns left when exiting his driveway to avoid risk.
Franklin Ward Councillor Andy Baker acknowledged the road is a “well-used back road” and known to be dangerous, but said it falls within the Waikato District’s boundary.
“Everyone knows everyone. The whole town will just be reeling, no matter who it is,” Baker said. “There’ll be so many different parts of the community affected by it. It’s a terrible thing.”
Volunteer first responder Tremayne Thompson, who was among the first to arrive at the crash, told Morning Report that accidents and near-misses were “very common” on the road.
“It’s so narrow that you almost have head-on collisions on a very regular basis,” RNZ quoted.
Thompson also supported calls for speed cameras and resurfacing work, citing poor road conditions made worse by moss in shaded areas.
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