Elderly man killed in North Island crash

File photo / NZ Herald

A 72-year-old man has died in a car crash in the central North Island early this morning.

Emergency services were called to the intersection of Taumarunui-Ngapuke and Pungapunga roads at Ngapuke, 10km east of Taumarunui about 1.30am.

Sergeant Paul Dowie said the man's car came off the road, hitting a tree. The man died at the scene.

He said there were no other vehicles involved in the accident and the cause of the crash is not yet known.

Meanwhile one person in is a serious condition after their vehicle hit a bank on State Highway 3 near New Plymouth.

Emergency services were called to the scene south of the town on Junction Rd at 6.40am today.

A person was seriously injured after being thrown from the car, said police.

Two nurses who arrived on the scene provided first aid while waiting for the ambulance to arrive.

- Herald Online and APNZ staff