A 53-year-old man is the latest fatality on Northland's roads after the vehicle he was driving and a truck travelling in the opposite direction collided on State Highway 1.
The crash closed the highway for nearly six hours on Wednesday with traffic being diverted through Waipū township.
Emergency services were called to the scene just after 9am.
Inspector Wayne Ewers said it appeared a north-bound four-wheel-drive crossed the centre line and collided with a south-bound New World truck and trailer unit.
Ewers said it was not clear why the car crossed the road and the police serious crash unit would investigate. The 4WD ended up crashed into a fence off the south-bound lane.