Rescuers battled tides and failing light to retrieve the 4 WD from Muriwai Beach

Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the four men who died in an horrific crash on Muriwai Beach today.

Emergency services raced the tide and fading light to recover the bodies of four men and evidence from the scene of a quadruple fatality crash on Auckland’s Muriwai beach. The men died after the 4WD they were travelling in hit and log and rolled.

Police Inspector Mark Fergus said the four deceased were men of varying ages and that earlier reports one of the dead was a 12-year-old boy were incorrect…

Emergency services were initially alerted to the crash by a passerby, who tried to give first aid to the victims until police, ambulance and helicopter crews arrived…Past president of the Auckland Four Wheel Drive Club Peter Vahry said the area was popular with drivers but there had been accidents there in the past…

We’ve written before about New Zealand’s beaches being used as public roads, and of the pedestrians and animals that have been killed by speeding vehicles.

If you’re intending to visit New Zealand for a beach holiday be sure to chose a beach that is closed to motor vehicles.

“Not local people“

The following day a news report hinted the deceased men may have been tourists.

A Westpac Rescue Helicopter pilot who assisted with the recovery, Ati Wynyard,  said the “men were probably unfamiliar with the beach” and he had attended “heaps” of accidents involving 4WD vehicles on the beach, “people treated the beach like a racing drag”.

“I definitely know these people aren’t locals, so they were speeding, they don’t really know the area and they might have hit something, they might have gone in the water and made the truck roll.”

It is believed there is a 60 km/hr speed limit on the section of the beach where the accident occurred.

In May, two men were injured, one critically after their beach buggy rolled at South Head, just north of Muriwai Beach. During the same month, a multi-agency operation was held to enforce the land Transport Act on Muriwai Beach and Te Oneone Rangatira Beach which extends north and surrounding roads.

During the major police crackdown more than 100 vehicles were stopped for a range of offences, including trespassing, driving in sand dunes and breaking the speed limit. Police said they expected to release the names of the men on Monday afternoon, once their family had been contacted. source

Related

Take care of your kids on NZ’s beaches as you’ll probably be sharing the sand with a variety of motor vehicles.(2009) “13 year old Daisy Fernandez was killed and her friend seriously injured by a 15 year old trail bike rider, as they lay in the dunes on a Northland beach where speeding is a problem.”

The Dom News’ report also gave the following information

BEACH CRASHES

New Zealand Transport Agency records show there have been 115 vehicle crashes on beaches since 2004. Of those, seven resulted in deaths, 35 in serious injury and 47 in minor injury.

The worst year was 2005, with 20 crashes, including two fatal, six serious and seven minor.

Its too late now what!! American authors caught in NZ dune rage

The American authors of a book titled Its Too Late Now What! have been attacked whilst on vacation in the Coromandel,  New Zealand.

Hawaiian couple, artists and free thinkers, Felizia Graye and ‘Professor’ Shenandoah Forest were enjoying a quiet day at the beach when, according to the Herald a horror attack left them completely “freaked out”

Ms Graye said the drama unfolded after children on a quad bike began circling where they were sitting at Kennedy Bay, about 15km northeast of Coromandel. As the bike got closer they waved at them to stop, and after she threatened to call police the children went away. But a short time later “a very upset man” arrived.

“He appeared to be really angry about us talking to the kids and started screaming at us and said ‘they are just having fun’.”

Woman abused by dog killer on Haumoana Beach

Another reminder today that New Zealand is anything but safe.

Our sympathies are with ER nurse Kay Hamilton whose puppy dog was killed on Haumoana Beach in Hawkers Bay by a speeding quad bike hoon.

The driver and his two passengers displayed reckless disregard for human life when they sped past a young family on the beach at well over  50km/hr. Unfortunately they hit Kay’s puppy Rosie, causing fatal injuries.

But instead of the driver apologizing for killing her dog, he abused her and told her to fuck-off.