Elderly woman trapped next to dead husband

A tow truck removes a vehicle involved in fatal accident near Puketapu where an elderly couple's car left the driveway and rolled 30m into a tree. Photo/Warren Buckland

An elderly woman lay trapped and badly injured overnight next to her dead husband after their car left a driveway and rolled up to 30 metres down a steep bank.

The vehicle and was found this morning overturned in a ditch on a rural property north of Napier.

Both victims are understood to be in their 80s and the vehicle apparently hit a tree.

Police confirmed this morning the couple, from Taradale, were visiting the property on Puketapu Rd yesterday evening.

It is understood they had left the property to head home sometime last night.

However, their car was discovered crashed this morning by the property owners. The man was found dead and his wife had been trapped in the car overnight. She is currently in Hawke's Bay Hospital with serious injuries.

Emergency services are at the scene. Police say it is unclear why the car left the gravel road. The Police Serious Crash Unit is investigating.

The name of the dead man will not be released until all family have been notified.