Head-on crash kills two on danger road

The car in which the young men died in last night's collision. Photo / Christine Cornege

Two young men died in a two-car smash near Hamilton last night.

Emergency services converged on the scene, near the intersection of Horotiu and Limmer Rds at Te Kowhai, about 15km west of the city.

Senior Sergeant Mike Underwood said the two men, who were in a south-bound car, were killed when they collided head-on with a ute travelling north.

The driver of the ute was not injured.

Mr Underwood said it appeared the men's car had crossed the centre line on a corner and crashed into the oncoming vehicle.

The stretch of road, which had been the site of numerous accidents, was slippery and wet.

The road was closed either side of the scene and traffic detours were set up.

The fatal crash brings this year's road toll in the Waikato police district to 29, the same number killed at the same time last year.

The Waikato toll is 10 higher than the next highest number of regional fatalities - 19 in the central North Island police district.

The national road toll before last night's accident was 133 for the year, against 186 for the same period last year.

Waikato road policing manager Inspector Leo Tooman told the Herald last month that drivers under the age of 24 were at fault in half of his region's fatal crashes.

Feilding police yesterday identified a woman who died on Wednesday when her car crashed down a bank and into a tree. She was Mrs Margaret Patricia Hirst, 59, of Halcombe.