Man dies after being flung 30m from vehicle

Whangarei Hospital

A 21-year-old Northland man has died in hospital after a crash in which he was flung 30 metres from the vehicle he was driving.

He was Jamieson Valdez Misi, of Waipapa.

Police say Mr Misi was driving on Pungaere Rd, Kerikeri, when it's believed he lost control while travelling around a bend just after midnight on Tuesday.

Police believe the car crossed the centre line and went up a bank, causing the car to roll multiple times.

Mr Misi, the sole occupant of the vehicle, was airlifted to Whangarei Hospital by the Northland Emergency Services Trust helicopter with critical injuries but died later the same day.

Meanwhile, drivers and one passenger in a three-car pile-up near Waipu were lucky to escape with minor injuries.

Emergency services were called to State Highway 1 near the intersection with Artillery Rd about 6pm on Tuesday.

Police spokeswoman Sarah Kennett said a 46-year-old male driver was passing a northbound vehicle when it spun out on the wet road and veered into the a southbound lane where it struck another vehicle and forced it off the road into the drain. The vehicle that spun out of control ended up in the south bound lane and stuck a third vehicle.

Meanwhile, an elderly driver managed to climb from his car that ended up in a paddock on Old Bay Rd, near Kaikohe, about 10.15am yesterday. Initial reports were he was trapped but he managed to free himself before firefighters arrived.