Earlier today in our blog about the recent deaths on New Zealand’s ski fields we mentioned that an Australian had been killed and another seriously injured when their car rolled on black ice just hours after arriving in the country. The men were to do training work for River Coal.

Our thoughts and deepest condolences go out to their families at this difficult time.

In the last 24 hours there have been numerous crashes in New Zealand associated with icy roads, including one that occurred after a truck allegedly ran out of grit.

The Australian has published the following:

An Australian injured in a crash in New Zealand, which also killed a NSW man, is now in a serious condition, a spokeswoman for the Canterbury District Health Board says.

Barry Pearson, a 56-year-old NSW man was killed on Monday after the Holden Rodeo ute he was driving left an icy road and tumbled down a steep bank, near Greymouth, on the west coast of the South Island about 6am (0400 AEST).

Mr Pearson died at the scene and his male passenger, who is also Australian but yet to be named, was taken to Christchurch hospital in a stable condition with serious spinal injuries. On Tuesday morning, the passenger’s condition was updated to serious, a Canterbury District Health Board spokeswoman told AAP.

Police said frost and icy conditions were major contributors to the crash, however the exact cause was not yet known, Constable Dayna Wallace of Greymouth police told AAP.

The Australian men had just arrived in New Zealand to deliver training at a local mining company, she said. The vehicle came to rest on its roof and was later moved by police, who will continue investigations later this week.

Police will also interview the driver of a truck that had been laying grit on the icy road about the time of the crash.”

New Zealand’s roads have an appallingly high death toll. For more, see posts tagged Dangerous Roads and our Road Crash Data page