Fire chief shaken after 'black spot' intersection crash

A Canterbury fire chief is still running through the 'what ifs' after he walked away from a crash with a motorist who drove through a stop sign.

Springfield's fire chief Grant Williams and his partner were travelling along Rakaia Gorge Rd (State Highway 77) towards Windwhistle when they were hit by a car coming out of Leaches Rd.

“He just came straight through the stop sign and took us out,” Williams said.

“The only thing I remember is I heard the missus yell that he was coming through and  then I just heard the loud bang in the back of the car.

“He hit the back of us and the car spun so many times it seemed like it kept going forever.”

Both roads have a 100kmh speed limit.

A police spokesperson said no injuries were reported after the crash last Tuesday.

The investigation into the crash was ongoing.

As a result of recent crashes in the area, Fire and Emergency New Zealand is set to meet with NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi officials and Selwyn District Council staff on Friday to discuss the intersection.

Hororata Volunteer Fire Brigade chief Bruce Sayer said they were regularly called to crashes at the intersection.

“It definitely is a really bad black spot," Sayer said.

"At the end of the day something needs to be done about it.

"We have to stop the carnage on that intersection somehow."

NZTA data showed since 2020 there has been one fatal crash, three serious and one minor crash at the intersection.

The fatal crash in February involved two trucks that collided.

illiams said the outcome from his crash could have been much worse.

“It would have been 10 times worse if had been a fraction of a second earlier or later.

“It’s been through my mind dozens of times.”

His young grand-daughter is a regular passenger in their vehicle but she wasn’t with them at the time.

That had been playing on Williams' mind, too.

“We have a car seat in there for our wee grand-daughter and that sort of thing sticks in your mind too.”

Snow had fallen overnight in Selwyn before the crash. Williams said there was no issue with visibility but the road was damp. 

He said along with the physical and mental trauma, he is frustrated by the inconvenience of not having a car.

Windwhistle residents also want changes to the intersection.

Nearby farmer Steve Richards has even gone to the extent of placing a wrecked car in his paddock next to it.

"I put it there about six weeks ago ...  (I was) standing there and I saw someone go straight through and just enough’s enough," Richards said.

"Whether it makes any difference I don’t know, but I’m going to leave it there.”

Richards said he would support adding flashing stop signs or warning lights to warn people about the approaching intersection.

An NZTA spokesperson said improvements have been designed for the intersection, but a date to do the work is yet to be finalised.

"Our safety engineer has outlined an appropriate package of signs and pavement marking improvements to help define this intersection better, making it more conspicuous/visible for drivers, but this is subject to funding and safety priorities,” the spokesperson said.

Windwhistle School is located near the intersection.

Principal Bronwen Seaward remembers hearing the sound of the fatal truck crash while pupils were in the swimming pool.

“It sounded like a bomb going off,” said Seaward. 

She said there had been multiple times when the school bus had been r-routed due to a crash at the intersection.

Seaward thinks the whole of Windwhistle, including the intersection, should have a reduced speed limit.

"I think it would make it a lot safer if it was reduced."