AN elderly man using a mobility scooter to cross a pedestrian crossing has died after he was struck by a car in Te Kūiti last week.
A PEDESTRIAN using a crossing on SH3 in Te Kūiti was struck by a car last week, the second in recent months. The elderly man was using a mobility scooter to cross near the Te Ara Tika rail overbridge when he was hit by a car last Thursday afternoon. He was airlifted to hospital for treatment but has since died. A police investigation into the crash is underway and no charges have been laid yet. Waka Kotahi system manager Waikato Cara Lauder said a regional safety engineer would visit the site within the month to assess the adequacy of current signage and markings at the crossing. “Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency is very sorry to hear about the incident where a member of the public was struck by a car as he crossed SH3 on his mobility scooter. “Our thoughts are with him, his family and everyone affected. “Any death or serious injury on a New Zealand road is unacceptable, and pedestrian crossings should be safe places to cross roads. “Everyone deserves to get where they’re going safely whether they’re walking, cycling, driving or on their mobility scooter.” In July a schoolgirl was hit by a car as she crossed SH3 near Hospital Rd. An assessment of that crossing found immediate safety improvements including new signage could be put in place, which Cara said has now been done. In August Cara said a proposal to upgrade the crossing at the northern end of town to a signalised one on a raised platform would be submitted for consideration under the National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) 2024-2027 (King Country News, August 18, 2022). Like with the crossing near Hospital Rd, if the crossing close to the overbridge is determined to need significant improvements it will need to be approved for the 2024-2027 funding round of the NLTP because the current period is fully subscribed, Cara said.
