Girl, 15, dies when car hits power pole

A 15-year-old Hamilton girl has died after a car in which she was a passenger hit a power pole last night at Pirongia, near Te Awamutu.

Waikato police said Rebecca Theresa Brown was the right rear seat passenger in a car that drove off the road and collided with a power pole.

The accident happened at 8.20pm.

The other three occupants of the car have all been admitted to Waikato Hospital with minor to moderate injuries.

Police are investigating the cause of the crash.

They said State Highway 39 was closed to all traffic for three hours until the road was cleared of wreckage and fallen power lines.

Meanwhile, police have still not named the man who was killed in the other fatal crash on the weekend.

The accident happened yesterday afternoon when the motorcycle he was riding collided with a train on a railway crossing near Whakatane.

Police said the crash happened on State Highway 30 at Te Teko, about 20km southwest of Whakatane, just before 3pm.

- NZPA