Easter holiday road toll stands at five

The holiday Easter road toll stands at five this morning.

The five were killed in four crashes in the top half of the North Island during the first 24 hours of the holiday period.

A 39-year-old man died after losing control of his motorcycle about midday Friday at the intersection of State Highway 1 and Bosher Road at Wellsford, 115km north of Auckland.

His wife who was a pillion passenger suffered a broken arm in the crash into a speed barrier, Sergeant Paul Walker of Wellsford police said.

A 48-year-old woman from Morrinsville died after the car she was driving hit a bridge at the intersection of SH26 and Oak St in Morrinsville, 32km northeast of Hamilton, shortly after 9am Friday.

Early Friday morning, a teenager died after he was thrown from his car on Whangarei Heads Road, near Whangarei, about 1.30am.

The man, who was the only person in the car, was not found until 7.30am, when he was spotted by a passing motorist, police said.

The first victims of the Easter period were two men in their early 20s who died in hospital after a two-car crash on Springs Rd in the south Auckland suburb of Otara, about 10.30pm Thursday.

Both the dead men were passengers in a car which was hit from behind by another car after backing out of a driveway, police said.

The Easter weekend road toll period began at 4pm Thursday and ends at 6am on Tuesday morning.

Last year, nine people died over the long weekend.

In 2007, the toll was six, up from three in 2002 and 2003.

- NZPA