One person dead and three hurt in fatal crash

One person died and three others were injured in a two car crash on State Highway 29A near the Maungatapu Bridge last night.

The crash happened just before the bridge on the Matapihi peninsula near where the passing lane begins about 7.30pm and was believed to have been head-on.

Police Northern Communications Centre Senior Sergeant Chris Money confirmed one person had died and three others were injured - one person had serious injuries, one moderate injuries and one minor injuries.

There were three people in one car and one in the other, he said.

The three injured people were all taken to Tauranga Hospital by ambulance.

A reporter at the scene said firefighters were working to cut open a white car which was crashed into a bank.

The white car appeared to have been heading towards the bridge when it crashed.

The bridge was closed and traffic was being turned back.

There was a police cordon at the Maungatapu on-ramp intersection of Maungatapu Rd and Wikitoria St and traffic was being turned around.

Police were also turning people around at Baypark and the Welcome Bay roundabout.

Maungatapu residents Brian and Adrienne Worth heard the commotion from their house.

"We just live up here and we heard all the sirens - one, two, then three, four, then five, six. A lot of sirens going off, we noticed," Mr Worth said.

"Then we noticed the traffic was being diverted to go back to Welcome Bay."

It brought back memories of the crash which killed 24-year-old Greg Woledge on August 12, 2013 when his van was pushed off the Maungatapu bridge after a head-on crash.

"It's shades of that other crash down here," Mr Worth said.

"It's the old four lanes going into two, it's probably a bit narrow and I reckon it needs to be widened."

The road was still closed at the time this publication went to print.