Havelock North man killed in crash near Hastings

A 20-year-old man died this morning after the car he was driving collided with a truck near Hastings.

He was Andrew John Kearns of Havelock North.

Senior Sergeant Greg Brown, of Hastings police, said the crash happened at the intersection of State Highway 2 and Napier Rd, 5km north of Hastings, about 5.15am.

A southbound truck and trailer unit and a northbound Nissan Silvia car driven by Mr Kearns collided.

Mr Kearns' car had just turned out of Napier Rd on to the highway when the collision occurred, Mr Brown said.

Mr Kearns died at the scene. The truck driver was not injured but was "shaken up", Mr Brown said.

The road was closed to all traffic for four hours while police completed a scene examination.

Police are investigating the cause of the crash and would like to talk to any witnesses.

It was the third fatal road crash in Hawke's Bay in less than nine days.

The fatality came less than three days after a 54-year-old cyclist was killed in a collision with a car at another SH2 intersection, less than 3km from the scene of today's accident.

On January 11, a two-year-old boy died in a crash at Fernhill.

Meanwhile, two women were flown from Wairoa to Hawke's Bay Regional Hospital in Hastings yesterday after the car they were in left SH2 between Raupunga and Wairoa and hit a bank.

- NZPA