A horror month on Northland roads continued when one of the occupants of a vehicle that crashed into a concrete power pole at Awanui on Friday night later died in hospital.
That took the Northland road toll to seven in 23 days, and 14 for the year to date. Nine of those lives have been lost in the Far North.
A second occupant, who suffered minor to moderate injuries, was understood to have left the scene before emergency services arrived. The deceased, who was thrown from the vehicle, was found by residents in shrubbery inside a fence the car had demolished.
The vehicle, believed to be a People Mover or similar, appeared to have failed to take the corner at the end of the Awanui Straight as it travelled north, in heavy fog, crossing the centre line and crashing into the power pole. It then smashed through a wooden residential fence, crossed a driveway and demolished another section of fence before coming to rest against a second power pole.
The power lines remained suspended, but a Top Energy crew replaced the first pole on Saturday morning. Residents were still waiting for power to be restored at 10.30am.
