Selwyn District councillor Sarah Barnsley described the incident as “tragic”, saying the council would review the police report as part of its ongoing efforts to improve road safety across New Zealand’s fastest-growing district.
“Many roads that were designed for rural traffic are now supporting much higher volumes of vehicles and a wider range of users,” Barnsley said.
While the cause of the crash has yet to be determined, Barnsley said the council was “investing in safety improvements” on its roading network.
“Council is actively investing in safety improvements such as enhanced intersection treatments like warning signals, rumble strips, and targeted speed reviews,” she said.
“We’ve identified some hotspots where intersection safety is a real concern for us, and they have been actively monitored.
“We have been taking active steps to improve safety around those intersections.
“That has come as a result of community voice, police incident reporting, but obviously council are part of the community as well, and we want to see our community safe.”
Barnsley said the crash would have a significant impact on Selwyn’s close-knit rugby community.
“I was really saddened to hear about the incident,” she said.
“I had been down at our local rugby club watching our local division two team playing.
“The rugby community is pretty tight around Selwyn.
“So for any club to go through what this club is going through is just tragic.
“We only want for our family [and] for those players to get home safely at the end of the day.”
Selwyn is the fastest-growing district in New Zealand and encompasses townships including Lincoln, Rolleston, Darfield, West Melton, Prebbleton and Leeston.
In recent years, people have been moving to Selwyn in droves, with the current population of 85,600 expected to reach 153,300 in 30 years.