Farmer dies in quad accident

When a sharemilker hadn't made it to the shed with the cows yesterday morning another Manutahi farm worker went looking for him.

The worker found 40-year-old Rhys Mark Wilson, of Alton, in a gully on the Geary Rd farm.

It is believed the quad bike he was riding flipped as he attempted to get down a steep slope to get to some stray cows about 5am.

CPR was being administered as emergency services arrived at the scene but Mr Wilson could not be revived.

Police were called about 7.30am and are investigating the accident that has been referred to the coroner.

The Department of Labour is also involved and has taken the quad bike as part of its investigation.

Mr Wilson is the seventh person in Taranaki to die in a quad bike accident since 2002.

Farm owner Alistair Geary said Mr Wilson had worked on the farm for four years and was coming into his fifth season.

Mr Geary said late yesterday afternoon the details of the accident were still coming to him.

"It's not the best of days," he said.

The Taranaki Daily Newsunderstands Mr Wilson had a partner and three children with his former wife.

Alison Rupapera, owner of the Manutahi Hotel described Mr Wilson as a friendly and kind-hearted man.

She said he enjoyed coming into the pub on a Friday night for a meal, a drink and a catch-up.

"He had a huge network of friends and he was very close to his children."

Mr Wilson was a great mate to so many in the community and would do anything for anyone, she said.

"He was a great guy, just a character, a loveable character."

Mrs Rupapera said there were so many stories about Mr Wilson she wanted to share but it was too hard to think of one or two.

"He loved his bikes, his children, his garden, his ex-wife, his partner," she said.

Federated Farmers dairy chairman Derek Gibson said the accident was a tragic reminder of how dangerous quad bikes could be.

"There's often a lot of talk about the danger of young kids riding them but it can happen to anyone," he said.

"It's really sad and another wake-up call."

Mr Gibson said most farms would have a least one quad bike among other ATVs and very few accidents involving the four-wheeled bikes were minor.

"They either result in serious injury or they are fatal."

- © Fairfax NZ News