A 58-year-old man has died after his station wagon lost control and crashed into a tree in Kaipara, Northland.
A farmer at a Taipuha address called emergency services shortly after 3pm on Wednesday to report a serious crash on Paparoa-Oakleigh Rd, between Burke Rd and Taipuha Station Rd.
Serious crash investigator Warren Bunn said the farmer told police he heard a “loud crash”. He then went to the source of the sound and saw a man “badly hurt” and trapped in a Toyota station wagon.
“We believe the man was heading southbound on the Paparoa-Oakleigh Road and it was when he was taking a leftward bend that he lost control, crossed the centre line and crashed head-on to a tree on the other side,” Bunn said.
The investigator confirmed the man had been wearing a seatbelt and that police were still investigating the circumstances of the crash.