Northland police respond to fatal crash in Waiharara, Far North

A second fatal crash has occurred in Northland less than 24 hours after a man died when his car hit a culvert while driving on a remote road in Moerewa.

A person has died after the car they were travelling in reportedly having rolled on Kaimaumau Rd, Waiharara, at about 4pm today. The road is in a remote area, roughly 30km north of Kaitāia.

Four other people in the vehicle were injured. Three were transported to hospital with serious to moderate injuries, police said.

The Kaitāia and Houhora fire brigades responded alongside police and Hato Hone St John which sent four ambulances to the scene.

Both lanes of Kaimaumau Rd are blocked. Police advised motorists to expect delays and avoid the area if possible.

The Serious Crash Unit has been called in.

The crash follows the death of a 24-year-old man on Wednesday night. He died after his BMW failed to make a corner and rolled on Otiria Rd in Moerewa.

Northland Serious Crash Unit investigator Steve Chamberlain said the car hit a culvert, throwing the man from the vehicle.

Police believed he was not wearing a seatbelt.

Chamberlain said they were continuing to investigate the circumstances of the crash.

The two deaths have taken Northland’s road toll to eight for the year and the Waiharara fatality is the third to occur on the region’s roads in the past four days.

A 54-year-old man died on Monday after the logging truck he was driving crashed into trees on a bank on Mangakahia Rd in Tītoki, south of Whangārei.

Serious crash unit analyst Jeff Cramp said the driver died at the scene from critical injuries received when the truck crashed head-on into trees.

Police were still investigating but understood the truck had crossed the centre line and road before crashing into the bank. The cab was completely destroyed.