Staff at the Cardrona Alpine Resort are "devastated" at the death of a loved colleague and friend just days out from opening day.
Tom McRae Campbell, of Ohakune, was killed after his car left the Mai Mai Creek bridge on the Haast Highway (State Highway 6) near Karangarua on Wednesday afternoon.
The 27-year-old had worked as a snow groomer at the ski field for the past six years and was travelling to Wanaka to take part in staff training, which took place today.
Cardrona general manager Bridget Legnavsky said everyone who worked at Cardrona was devastated at losing Mr Campbell, who was not just a loved member of staff, but also a role model to many of his colleagues.
Not only was he extremely good as his job, he was loved by skiers and snowboarders at Cardrona for always seeking their feedback on his grooming, Ms Legnavsky said.
"He was a great partier, a hard case, just a really inspirational guy.''
A tribute was posted on the resort's Facebook page with a photo of Mr Campbell's colleagues spelling out his initials surrounded by grooming equipment.
Senior Sergeant Paul Watson, of Greymouth, said Mr Campbell's vehicle crashed off the bridge and landed upside down in the relatively shallow stream bed.
Sgt Watson said there was nothing the emergency services attending the crash could do. The Serious Crash Unit was examining the scene today.
Police said their thoughts were with Mr Campbell's family and friends during this difficult time.
'Notorious spot'
Fox Glacier Volunteer Fire Brigade fire chief John Sullivan told Stuff the spot was "notorious" and was the third crash on the bridge in the past 15 months. The broken wooden side rails had still not been replaced after the last crash there six months ago.
"It's a bad spot because (motorists) come down a hill on to this one-lane bridge and you're looking straight into the setting sun," Mr Sullivan said.
New Zealand Transport Agency regional performance manager Pete Connors confirmed the rail was damaged in a recent crash.
"The transport agency is currently designing permanent side protection to replace the wooden rails for this bridge," Mr Connors said. "In the meantime, the bridge's speed limit had already been reduced to 30kph until this work is completed."
NZTA would review the safety of the bridge today to see if any additional measures could be taken until the new side protection was installed later this year, he said.
- additional reporting Greymouth Star
