Robyn Edie/Stuff
Police are investigating a crash at the intersection of Nith and Bowmont streets in Invercargill on Monday evening that led to the death of a young man.
Southern police have already had to visit the parents of six Southland teens this year to tell them their children had died in a vehicle accident.
Ministry of Transport data shows the person who died after a crash at the intersection of Nith and Bowmont streets on Monday night was a male teen between the ages of 15 and 19.
He was the second teen to die on Southland’s roads in less than a week after 17-year-old Kaia Hamilton lost control of her car and went into the Oreti River on Thursday night.
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The still unnamed young man was taken to Southland Hospital where he died early on Tuesday morning.
The two most recent deaths come just three months after four young friends from Bluff and Invercargill died in a crash on Queens Drive.
Southland road policing manager Senior Sergeant Brent Kingsland said young people, especially young men, had always been overrepresented in crash statistics.
“We know that during the first few months after a driver receives their restricted licence they are more at risk of a serious crash,” he said.
The increased risk was partly due to inexperience, which was why it was important that young people be extra vigilant, Kingsland said.
Attending fatal accident scenes was never easy, but even more so when young people were involved, he said.
“Many of our officers are parents themselves, and there’s no question that it affects people. It’s also incredibly hard to have to go to that child’s home and give their parent the news,” Kingsland said.
In Monday night’s incident, a second person had left the scene before police arrived.
The person was later located and was assisting police with their investigation, but Kingsland said this had always been a problem.
Ministry of Transport
The Government is working on a road safety strategy to drive substantial improvements in road safety in New Zealand. (Video first published in December 2019)
Some people left the scene and came back once they’d had a moment to process, but in other cases they didn’t want to get into trouble, he said.
“My advice is to always stop and check to make sure no one’s injured, and call 111 if needed. If there’s a reason you don’t want to stop, like an outstanding warrant, we’ll sort that – but by not stopping the situation becomes much worse for everyone.”
Tuesday’s death brings the road toll for Southland in 2022 to eight – up from just one in 2021.
Kingsland said road deaths were increasing throughout New Zealand and the factors contributing to Southland’s fatalities were much the same as elsewhere in the country: people were not using proper restraints, were driving impaired or distracted, or were driving at excessive speeds.
Southern police were committed to prevention and enforcement action to reduce road deaths, he said.
“However road safety is everyone’s responsibility, and we need road users to take care. It’s a simple and easy action to put on your seatbelt, and it could save your life. Please drive to the speed limit, stay focused, driver sober, and arrive safely.”
