Passenger dies in Hastings motorbike carnage
13 February 2006
By PAUL MULROONEY
A crash involving several motorcycles and a four-wheel-drive vehicle
has left a woman dead and a scene reminiscent of a battlefield.
Motorcyclists were sent skittling across State Highway 50 in the
pile-up near Bridge Pa, Hastings, shortly before 6pm on Saturday.
The woman who died was Gaelene Maree Ayre, 45, from Flaxmere,
Hastings. She was a motorcycle pillion passenger. Another rider has
had a leg amputated and two other riders remain in a critical
condition in hospital.
Senior Sergeant Greg Brown, of Hastings, said a four-wheel-drive
Mitsubishi Pajero and a motorcycle collided. The 4WD then went out
of control and collided with several motorcycles, which were in a
group of 70, riding as a convoy.
Ms Ayre's husband was among the seriously injured in the crash,
which happened near the intersection with Maraekakaho Rd.
One rider, Dave Nicholson, who avoided the crash, likened the
aftermath to a war scene.
"It was horrendous. It was like a battlefield. All the people with
broken legs had compound fractures with bones sticking out."
AdvertisementAdvertisementAnother motorcyclist, Bruce Cutler, who
was riding ahead, had a clear view of the smash.
"I heard the thud, looked in my rear-view mirror and saw a
motorcycle sailing in the air already in flames.
"It was like a bomb hit. There were bikes in ditches and fences, and
people lying on the side of the road and a car just burning on the
side of the road."
Three motorcycle riders are in a serious condition in the intensive
care unit at Hawke's Bay Regional Hospital.
Two others were discharged after being treated for minor injuries.
The crash closed State Highway 50 for about three hours.
"Obviously when you've got five motorcycles involved there's a bit
of chaos at the scene," Mr Brown said.
Mr Nicholson said the convoy was on a charity poker run organised by
the Outlaws Motorcycle Club.
The Hawke's Bay Serious Crash Unit carried out a scene examination
and are investigating the cause of the crash.
Witnesses are asked to contact Hastings police.
