‘Horrifying’ road toll now 22

Press, 29 December 1980, Page 1

‘Horrifying’ road toll now 22

PA Wellington; ' There was nothing more the Ministry of Transport could do to stop the horrifying Christmas road toll.'- said' the Director of Road Trans-" port, Mr William Shearer, last evening. y,.... -.Traffic officers had. maximum round-the-clock coverage , but they were helpless in the face of the., public’s attitude, he said! .//“We have no -more re* sourcestouse,” he said. ) “We spent, a great deal of money; bn the drinkingdriving campaign, and we continually caution people about the need for care arid attention, on the. roads and the-dangers: of drinking ariddriving:” The shocking number of deaths, was a result of alcohol, careless-overtaking; arid speeding; .he said.' '• By last ■' evening - 22‘ people had died on New Zealand roads in wha. is . becoming one of . the blackest holiday road tolls. ■ Over the whole Christ-mas-New Year period last year 13 people died. The winner of this, year’s Dunlop Rally Driver of the Year Award . was killed in a head-qm collision at Pahoia, near;.’, Tauranga, on ~ Saturday. ' afternoon. He was Atari Wallis Fergus, aged - 26, a farmer, of ...\ Waihi. . * ' Mr Fergus v had • been watching the?; Baypark motor , racing at Tauranga. . sand it is believed he was returning home:to y/aihi Beach to bring his wife back to Tauranga on Sun- . day.;' ’ He first made his' name '

,in the national rallying last year, when he was running- in seventh place during' the North Island Motogard Rally., A Palmerston North couple-died, and six were ' injured, when a car and a station waggon’collided on a curve on State highway .1 near Marton yesterday. The dead couple were

Dawn 5 Natalie-iSlmonien, aged 49, of Innes Place. .Palmerston North, who died .at the scene of the accident; and her husband Rodney Graham Simonsen, ■' aged 52, who had been driving the car, ’ • and who died later- in . Palmerston North .Hospital-,. ... ,

Lyndall.Dawn Simonsen, aged 21, of Palmerston North,, was admitted to hospital. With 'serious injuries. Roger’ Martin Wellington, had minor injuries.

In a serious'condition: in hospital are the driver bf the station waggon, Eutakio Papa, aged 49, of. Bird Grove;?Stokes Valley, and his passengers, Papa,, aged--27, and Benjamin Papa, aged’ six. • • -; . Another woman passenger whose ideritity had not ..been established last evening was also j admitted in a serious.condition.

The Simonsen family .had just siet' off for a' holiday fin Auckland, the; Papa family .was returning, home, . according to the , police? ■A young man . and ' woman died on State highway li near Ruawai at 2 a.m. on Saturday when the

car in which they were passengers struck a bridge. They were Robert Atiken, 25, of Bir-

kenhead, and TereSa Kerssens, of Baylys Beach, near v Dargavillel

A young man is. dead an’d four other's injured, after . a head-on collision between two- cars at Clarkesville,’ .south of ’Milton, at 3 a.m. on Saturday. The dead man was

James Nbel Howie, aged, 18, of Moneymore, north of Milton. ■ He was the only occupant of his car. No-ohe has yet been killed on Canterbury roads in the holiday period, but -Senior Traffic Sergeant J. F. McKee described the last week as “a 'black period” for, drivers. In Christchurch, "too many”; - drinking •: drivers had been picked up by traffic Officers in? the last week.' Since. ; Christmas Eve, 15 . people had been seriously injured and 17 had suffered minor - injuries in ,14 injury j accidents'in the metropolitan area, he said. ’ ' i- ’ Officers had taken 49 sets .of-keys from drivers in; Christchurch, while 13 evidential tests’ had been administered' and 14 blood samples taken. ■ t ;•