7 Jan 2013

Farmer dies, man injured in quad bike crashes

1:02 pm on 7 January 2013

A man has died after falling from his quad bike while working on Rakaia farm in Canterbury.

Sergeant Sean Buchanan, of Ashburton, says Andrew Hamish Baxter fell from his bike shortly after 11pm on Saturday, suffering fatal injuries.

The 45-year-old had been out checking irrigators on his farm when the crash occurred and was discovered on a grass verge beside the road.

Mr Buchanan says police would like to reiterate that all users of farm bikes and off-road vehicles wear helmets and hi-visibility clothing and have appropriate training.

Meanwhile, a 50-year-old man has suffered a dislocated shoulder and spinal injuries from a quad bike accident on a farm near Te Haroto.

He was flown by rescue helicopter to Hawke's Bay Regional Hospital for treatment.

Last Wednesday, a six-year-old child suffered serious injuries in a quad bike crash at Waimarama on the Hawke's Bay coast.

The girl was with four adults when the quad bike they were riding veered off a bank and rolled. Police have said all the adults appeared intoxicated at the time of the crash.

The child remains at Auckland's Starship Hospital.