Biker dies in heavy fog

Police believe a burnt-out car found close to the scene of a fatal motorcycle crash may have been involved in the incident.

Thomas Alec Fry, 18, died after crashing in thick fog 9km north of Oamaru on State Highway 1 on Thursday morning.

The teenager's body lay undiscovered on the road for half an hour - and police said a number of motorists would have driven past unaware in the "extremely poor" driving conditions.

A truck driver eventually spotted his body at 4am and alerted emergency services.

A Nissan Skyline which had been destroyed by flames was found on Horse Gully Rd, 15km from the crash scene.

Oamaru Detective Sergeant Mike Ryder refused to say what linked this car to the fatal crash. "I'm not disclosing that, but we're confident that it is," he said.

It is understood that someone removed the licence plates before deliberately setting the car alight.

Fry family friend Graham Turnbull said the death was a cruel blow after the family attended the funeral of Fry's grandmother hours earlier.

"They'd only been down here [Mosgiel] the day before the accident because they buried his grandmother. Then they all went home - and then this happened."

Turnbull, from Mosgiel, said the family were too upset to speak to media. "They're very distraught - very. Things are pretty pear-shaped for them at the moment," he said.

"He was a hell of a nice kid."

Fry, from Oamaru, had left Waitaki Boys High School where he was an accomplished sportsman. He had competed in discus competitions at the Aoraki Athletics Club.

Police are asking anyone who may have seen a grey two-door 1995 Nissan Skyline GTS north of Oamaru between 3am and 6am on Thursday to contact police or call Crime Stoppers.

"It does not matter how far you may be from Oamaru, if you saw such a car on the road we need to hear from you. We're trying to establish who was in it at the time," Ryder said.

"We rely on people to come forward. The family is entitled to answers - their son is dead and we really want to work out what happened to give them some peace of mind."

Police were able to establish the time of the crash after witnesses at a truck-stop reported hearing a crash around 3.30am.

On his Bebo account, Fry said he was a keen motorcyclist who enjoyed hunting with his friends.