Crash takes holiday road toll to three

File photo / NZ Herald

The official holiday road death toll has risen to three after a 17-year-old woman was killed in northern Hawkes Bay today.

The woman was in a Toyota Hilux truck that crashed on State Highway 2 at Raupunga, 7km south of Wairoa, at 7.30am, police said.

Police said it was not yet clear what happened but no other vehicles were involved.

Constable Sam Johnson of Gisborne said that there were apparently five people in the vehicle and three of them were treated at Wairoa Hospital.

The serious crash unit was investigating.

Police earlier reported that they had found the driver of a car they believe may have been racing with a car driven by a 44-year-old woman which crashed killing her near Dunedin on Christmas Eve.

Gayle Jean Anderson's car slammed into a power pole on Bush Road, about 15km from Dunedin, at 9.30pm on Friday.

A Mosgiel man, who owned a dark blue 2001 Subaru Impreza, which police believe was racing or following the car driven by Ms Anderson, came forward to police yesterday, Senior Sergeant Brian Benn said.

The man was known to Ms Anderson.

Mr Benn said police still wanted to hear from anyone who had seen the Subaru and Ms Anderson's silver 1992 Honda Prelude in the Mosgiel area of School Road, Mosgiel Outram Highway, Riccarton Road and Bush Road, between 4pm and 10pm.

Police in Counties Manukau are still investigating a hit and run which left a 40-year-old man just minutes into Christmas Day.

Vineshwar Singh was hit by a car on Helvetia Road in Pukekohe, south Auckland, and died a short time later. The car immediately left the scene.

The official holiday road toll started at 4pm on Christmas Eve and runs until 6am on January 5. Last year 13 people died on the road during the Christmas holiday period.

- NZPA