Men killed in Ohakea car crash are named

Two men killed in a road crash near on SH1 at Ohakea yesterday (Sunday, 31 May) have been named as 21-year-old Stephen Kailahi from Feilding and 48-year-old Guy Stewart Bach from Lower Hutt.

Mr Kailahi appears to have been walking along SH1 around 6am yesterday when he was struck by a chemical tanker being driven by Mr Bach. The tanker then rolled into a drainage ditch.

The crash closed SH1 at Ohakea for 13 hours as various agencies worked to recover the stricken tanker which had leaked around 12,000 litres of caustic soda.

Police are now investigating why Mr Kailahi would have been walking along the highway and whether a car crashed in a ditch in nearby Wilson Road was linked to him.

Media enquiries should be referred to Communications Manager Kim Perks on 06 351 2546 or 027 234 8256.