Caryl Posted January 9, 2013 Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 Grant was on state highway 6 going through the Collins Valley in the Whangamoas today (mountain range between here and Nelson) following an All Gas truck. They were just coming to a blind corner when there was a loud bang and the truck was suddenly engulfed in flames. There were plenty of vehicles behind Grant, including 2 other trucks with fire extinguishers, so he moved around the gas truck and around the corner a bit to stop traffic coming the other way. He also managed to call for help via Ham radio, for ambulances and fire trucks (poor cell coverage through there). Turns out an English tourist on a motorbike had come around the corner on the wrong side of the road and gone straight under the truck. The flames were from the bike exploding. Biker was killed instantly but nobody else was injured. They were lucky the truck did not explode with all the gas cylinders on it! He has only just got away after helping at the scene and giving a statement to police. Poor tourist was apparently part of a group touring NZ on their bikes &c:ry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godly3vil Posted January 9, 2013 Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 Wow that is sad, damn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insectile Posted January 9, 2013 Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 I always hate it when things like this happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoFishing Posted January 9, 2013 Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 Was the rest of the bike group in attendance as well or was he on his own by then? Regardless, it's a very sad way to end what was probably a very enjoyable holiday. I feel sorry most for the family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 He appeared to be ahead of the group as there was no sign of them at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
critter_crazy Posted January 9, 2013 Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 How sad :tears: What a terrible accident! I feel awful for all those that had to witness it, especially the truck driver. Thoughts go out to the family of the man &c:ry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted January 9, 2013 Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 Feel sorry for the truckie, I know what its like to be completely powerless to stop something like that even though you can see it coming a mile off! As for the bike rider on the wrong side of the road, silly boy.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted January 9, 2013 Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 not cool for all involved at all. Also keep in mind the people that get called to the scene to deal with it, it's amazing how many emergency services people get sent to these things without a fatality let alone when there is a death. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted January 9, 2013 Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-storie ... son-crash/ I feel particularly sad not only for the family and friends of the motorcyclist but also for those who witnessed it and hope Grant and the others can cope. Look after him Caryl, he is a vey good man. My husband is currently touring the South Island on his motorcycle and every day when I come home from work I am thankful to see his posts on facebook showing he has reached his next destination. As a motorcyclist myself I appreciate how vulnerable we can be and how easy it can be to lose control on bends on roads not normally travelled. It only takes a moments inattention, a piece of loose gravel, wet road or bad roadside surface for a bike to drift. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 Pics here... http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news ... bike-crash Grant says they said the man was in his 50's but the paper is saying 70's. He also said his companions were not far behind him so were there as well. He also suspects there is more to the story than police would say over the radio so we are wondering if it is a public figure, perhaps known in his own country or something. Ade, I too thought of Mike as he travels, especially in the bad weather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted January 9, 2013 Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 Pics here... http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news ... bike-crash . the firemen are in level 1 protective clothing and using a HPD so that is clean up mode. The worst job i reckon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted January 9, 2013 Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 I used to work with a guy who was the fire chief in a rural fire brigade and a guy who was one of the senior ambulance people and I have nothing but admiration for the people that do either of those jobs and often as volunteers. I feel for anyone who saw this or the result of this and especially the truck driver.Hope Grant is dealing with it---not easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted January 9, 2013 Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 i am a volunteer fireman where i live and we get sent to all sorts of situations due to the area we are in. It can take more than 30 mins for ambulances to get here so we are turned out for that side of things more than anything. Being rural we get called to anything from heart attacks and strokes, a job like this crash or like yesterday a scrub fire so there is plenty of variety and you don't have to put yourself in situations your not happy with. For the fire service, there are something like 8,000 volunteers and around 1,800 paid staff and as a group i believe there is a need for more volunteers in most areas. There have been some tough calls here over the last few months, an elderly man died at the far end of a local beach so we had to recover the body back to the car park and we also got called to a suicide by hanging so you never know just what will come next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.