September 21, 2008

A horror smash that killed two young Northlanders and left another critically ill is one of the worst a veteran firefighter has ever seen. Shortly after midnight yesterday a 21-year-old woman lost control of her car on a straight stretch of road about a kilometre from Ahipara, 14km southeast of Kaitaia.
The vehicle rolled and slammed into a power pole, snapping the pole and killing driver, Odel Everitt, and 25-year-old front seat passenger Penaia Waenga.
Police say both alcohol and speed were involved.
A third person, 19, was airlifted to Whangarei Hospital by helicopter. She was in a critical condition after the life support machine was turned off around noon yesterday. The hospital duty manager was not prepared to give her condition early this morning.
A fourth person, a man in his 20s, is still on the run after fleeing from the crash scene.
Senior Sergeant Gordon Gunn, from Kaitaia police, said the man was found at a house shortly after the crash. He told an officer he was going to the toilet and escaped.
Police know the man and have eight warrants out for his arrest.
Kaitaia chief fire officer Colin Kitchen was among the crews from Kaitaia, Ahipara and Mangonui called to free the injured and dead.
'You really couldn't tell how many people were in the car,' he said. 'It was an absolute mess and the car was wrapped around the pole. It's up there as one of the worst crashes I've been to.'
Top Energy linesmen were called to stabilise the broken pole and dangling wires using a truck-mounted crane, while a female firefighter managed to crawl beneath the wreck and free the injured woman's legs, allowing her to be pulled free.
The power was then cut and the car peeled off the pole. Mr Kitchen said the side of the car and roof had to be cut to remove the bodies of the two dead.
The tragedy _ and the Far North's appalling drink driving record _ has police calling for Northlanders to realise just how lethal the combination of alcohol and driving is. Of the 20 deaths on Northland roads this year, nine involved alcohol.
It is believed the four had been drinking at a house not far from where the crash happened.
'Speed and alcohol are definitely killers. I've seen it far too often. Now three families have become victims because these people have chosen to drink and drive,' Mr Gunn said.
Northland road policing boss Inspector Clifford Paxton said people had to take responsibility and stop drunks getting behind the wheel. 'Some people are still not getting the message that drinking and driving are a lethal combination. We need to make sure we intervene and not turn a blind eye, and not accept this as a part of what we do in Northland.'
He said people often used the excuse they lived in a rural area or there were no taxis. Better planning was the answer to those excuses, he said.