Crash victim remains seriously hurt in Tauranga Hospital

Police at the scene of a crash involving a motorcylist and a car near Maketu yesterday. Photo/file

One of the men involved in a crash south of Te Puke remains in a serious condition at Tauranga Hospital.

The 38-year-old man was taken to hospital yesterday following a crash involving a motorcycle and a car on Maketu Rd.

A 21-year-old man suffered moderate injuries and was also taken to hospital, where he was discharged last night, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Emergency services were called to the crash, near the intersections with Te Tumu Rd and the Te Puke Highway, about 3.20pm. In a 5.51pm statement police said Maketu Rd was closed and asked motorists to avoid the area.

A Bay of Plenty Times photographer at the scene saw a motorbike lying in a trench about 30m from a silver sedan, which had a damaged front wheel on the driver's side and airbags deployed inside.

Nationally, it was a deadly weekend on the country's roads with eight lives lost.

A driver fleeing police near Nelson tried to overtake a truck about 5.40am on Sunday but collided with an oncoming vehicle on State Highway 6, killing three people. One of the victims was an innocent motorist in the oncoming car.

On Saturday five people were killed in three separate crashes.

One person was killed about midnight on Saturday in Hikurangi, Northland, two people died about 2.20pm north of Kaeo in the Far North and two people were killed about 6.40am in a crash near Whakapapa, in the central North Island.

Yesterday's crash brought the year's national road toll to 77 - nine more than at the same time last year.