Woman dies, man badly hurt in Bay of Plenty crashes

Police at the scene of a crash involving a motorbike at the intersection of SH2 and Te Tumu Rd near Maketu. Photo/George Novak

A woman has died and a man has suffered serious injuries in two separate road crashes in the Western Bay of Plenty.

An elderly Tauranga woman, who was injured after being hit by a car in Tauranga's CBD on Friday has died in Tauranga Hospital at the weekend.

The woman was taken to hospital with critical injuries and a Bay of Plenty District Health Board spokeswoman said the woman died on Saturday morning.

The incident happened on Devonport Rd between 1st and 2nd Aves just before midday.

Yesterdayafternoon, a serious crash between a motorcycle and a car on Maketu Rd near Paengaroa left two Te Puke men injured - including one in a serious condition.

The motorcyclist, a 38-year-old man, was in a serious condition and a 21-year-old man was in a stable condition, a Bay of Plenty District Health Board spokeswoman said just before 6pm yesterday.

Emergency services were called to the Maketu Rd 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.

Police have been called to the intersection of Maketu Rd and Te Tumu Rd. Image/Google Maps

The police Serious Crash Unit was investigating both crashes.

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.