By 3 News online staff
Police have named an elderly driver killed in a car crash near Havelock North yesterday.
Frances Ada Burden, 87, who was from the small town, died shortly after 3pm when a van and her Mazda Demio collided on Napier Rd.
Witnesses told police they saw the van, which was travelling south, cross the centre line before the crash.
Ms Burden died at the scene, while the 20-year-old van driver was taken to Hawke's Bay Regional Hospital with a suspected broken leg.
Initial investigations have ruled out speed, alcohol and weather conditions as factors in the crash.
The collision occurred around in an 80km/h zone, around 100 metres from where Napier Rd changes to a 50km/h zone.
The road was closed for four hours as the scene was examined then cleared.
Senior Sergeant Greg Brown says serious crash investigators will continue their investigation, including whether fatigue or distraction had contributed to the crash.
"It is an absolute tragedy that on a seemingly innocuous stretch of road that the absolute worst outcome has resulted. Now a family has to deal with the tragic loss of a mother and a grandmother."
Ms Burden's death is a reminder for drivers to be alert and focused even when driving at relatively low speeds, Mr Brown says.
3 News
source: newshub archive
