Taupō Police are appealing for a witness who reported dangerous driving to come forward after the vehicle they reported was later involved in a fatal collision near Mangakino.
Sergeant Shane McNally of the Taupō Serious Crash Unit told Lake FM the witness had contacted police while following a black Toyota RAV4 on State Highway 47 between National Park and Turangi at approximately 2:45pm on Monday, April 21.
"They were following a black Toyota RAV4 and complained or was concerned about its manner of driving," Sergeant McNally said. "So they called police, unfortunately due to reception the call ended and we have been unable to establish comms back to the caller."
Approximately 90 minutes after the initial report, the same RAV4 was involved in a fatal crash near Mangakino.
"Sadly what's happened is that RAV4 motor vehicle has been involved about 90 minutes later in a fatal crash near Mangakino," explained McNally.
Police believe the witness was a female travelling with a male companion from Whanganui towards Turangi at the time of the call. According to Police, the witness reported the RAV4 was "cutting corners and crossing the centre line."
The 64-year-old driver of the RAV4 has since pleaded guilty to careless driving causing death and is scheduled to be sentenced in Auckland District Court on May 6.
Sergeant McNally emphasised the importance of witnesses coming forward: "They were obviously witnessing a manner of driving prior to the crash. So we want to close the loop so to speak on where they were, what they saw, manner of driving, those types of things."
Police encourage anyone who may have information about this incident to contact them by calling 105 or visiting 105.police.govt.nz and clicking "Update Report," quoting file number 250421/4930.
Sergeant McNally also reiterated the importance of reporting dangerous driving. "We definitely take all these sorts of calls seriously and they are dispatched to our road policing staff out on the roads," he said. "We say that these complaints are an accident waiting to happen. So we want to get to them quickly and try to prevent anything from occurring."
