One bad decision and one terrible crash have left three families from
three different towns in mourning tonight.
Two men and a
woman were killed in a high speed head-on collision near Te Puke on one of the
country's most dangerous roads.
Two injured people had to
be cut from the wreckage when police arrived at the scene around 7pm last night.
"We've got three deceased people, two were in the vehicle
Te Puke-bound and one was in the vehicle Whakatane-bound," says Sgt Mike Owen.
"The drivers of both vehicles are among the deceased."
The
deceased are 33-year-old Elton Skipper of Napier, 21-year-old Terakina Selwyn of
Te Puke and 54-year-old Susan Sutherland of
Whakatane.
Police say Mr Skipper had tried to overtake at
excessive speed when he slammed head on into Ms Sutherland's car.
The crash occurred at the intersection of State Highway 2
and Pah Rd, just south of Te Puke - a stretch of road notorious for being dark
and dangerous.
The crash brings New Zealand's road toll
to 168 people this year, compared to 153 at this time last year.
3 News