Young Woman Killed When Truck And Car Collided

Taupo Times, Volume XII, Issue 52, 6 July 1965, Page 1

Young Woman Killed When Truck And Car Collided

A Hastings woman was killed instantly when the car in which she was a passenger and a logging truck collided late yesterday afternoon at the corner of Tauhara Road and AC Baths Avenue. She was: Mrs Elva Burns, 30, wife of Mr B. H. W. Burns, of Twyford, RD2 Hastings. Mr Burns, who was driving the car received slight head injuries. The logging truck was driven by Mr P. A. Stevenson, of Rotorua. Following the collision, the truck veered across the road, demolishing a telegraph pole and garden wall. It stopped four feet from the plate glass window of the lounge of Mr P. J. Potter's house in Tauhara Road. Six young children were in the lounge at the time. Mr Potter said that had the weather not been so cold, the children would most probably have been playing on the lawn where the truck crashed through the concrete block wall. Three of the children were visitors to the house. Eight telephone sub-lines were put out when the pole was brought down but repairs were expected to have been completed by this morning. The power to Mr Potter's house was also cut off by the accident. CONCERNED A resident of Tauhara Road, Mr P. J. Potter, says he has been concerned about the dangerous nature of the int-ersection where a woman was killed last night. He says the speed of traffic along Tauhara Road past the golf links is a frequent cause of concern. There have been a large number of minor accidents

on the corner previously and at least two more serious ones. The town clerk, Mr K. G. Winton, said this morning that the council had not had any official complaint about the intersection. "All intersections are dangerous," he said. Taupo traffic officer, Mr A. M. Campbell, said that it was not possible to put a compulsory stop on an unsealed road, but it was legally possible to have a "Give Way" sign. However, this type of sign had not proved as successful in Taupo as had been hoped. Mr Potter paid a tribute to the borough electricity department which restored power promptly after the telephone pole was broken by the truck.