Police have named the man who died following a crash on State Highway 38, near Frasertown, on Saturdayas 23-year-old Te Pouwhenua Hemi Waiwai from Wairoa.
The utility vehicle he was driving left the road and crashed at the Mangapapa Bridge.
Emergency services were called to the crash site around 2.20am.
Police said indications were that the vehicle may have struck a bridge abutment before coming to rest on the other side of the bridge.
Waiwai was the sole occupant and was found dead at the scene.