Third Northland road death in a week

A 43-year-old man died when his car collided with a truck near Waipu. Photo / John Stone

The occupants of this car which crashed over a bank near the intersection of Whareora and Mill Roads early on Saturday walked away.

A woman died after her car crashed down a bank on Whakapirau Rd near Maungaturoto on Saturday afternoon.

A member of the public noticed skid marks going off the road and down a bank near the road's intersection with State Highway 12, at 1.45pm.

The car was found on its roof and the driver and sole occupant had died at the scene.

The woman's death means Northland's road toll for the year has now soared to 23.

The Serious Crash Unit is investigating what is the third road fatality in Northland in a horror week.

The driver of this car died when he collided with a truck last Wednesday. Photo / John Stone

Last Wednesday, a 43-year-old man died after the vehicle he was driving and a truck travelling in the opposite direction collided on State Highway 1, Waipu.

The truck driver was uninjured, despite the vehicle jack-knifing and going through a farm fence before ending up in a paddock off the northbound lane.

That fatality followed another crash on SH1 south of Whangarei on June 16 that claimed the life of tattooist David Hart, 45.

Wayne Ewers, the region's senior roading police officer, has spoken out strongly several times this year about the high rate of road deaths.

Northland Police have just taken part in a month-long national policing campaign to emphasise road safety.

While the latest two deaths are still under investigation and the causes not yet made public, most of the fatalities to date have involved unsafe driving practises, including not wearing seatbelts.

In some cases crashes may have been caused by medical conditions.