Third serious truck crash in a week prompts warning from Waikato Police

Waikato Police working with other emergency services to clear a scene of a fatal crash are advising motorists travelling between Morrinsville and Hamilton to avoid using SH26 and use alternative routes.

District Road Policing Manager, Inspector Leo Tooman, said it was too early to say what the cause of the crash was that claimed the life of a female driver at the intersection of SH26 and Tauwhare Rd about 12.43pm.

"What we do know is a car has collided with a truck resulting in the female driver of the car suffering life extinguishing injuries.

"Work is currently underway to recover the woman's body. The driver of the truck was described as being uninjured but shaken from what has occurred. An scene examination is currently underway to determine what caused the crash and to identify contributing factors."

SH26 is currently closed and is expected to be so for some time. South west bound motorists are advised to take Piako Rd as an alternative and diversions are in place for north east bound traffic.

Mr Tooman said it was particularly concerning for Police that today's crash was the third involving cars and trucks in the Waikato this week.

"It now appears we have two women who have lost their lives and another fighting for her life in an Auckland hospital as well as a seriously ill child injured in Tuesday's crash as a result of trauma involving trucks on our roads this week.

"It's too early to speculate on the cause of this latest tragedy but what we do know is heavy transport vehicles are very large and quite difficult to stop in an emergency and as such should be afforded a good deal of respect and caution when encountered, we need to do all we can to prevent such tragedies for all our sakes."