KEY POINTS:
The driver of a car that hit and killed a 22-year-old on a busy stretch of road was believed to be drinking, say police. The dead man was lying in the middle of Matakana Rd, north of Auckland, when he was run over by a car - understood to be driven by a friend - early yesterday morning.
His name is expected to be released today, after his next of kin are advised.
A neighbour who was one of the first on the scene told the Herald on Sunday a group of teenage boys were trying to divert traffic with road cones after a night drinking.
"I heard them all mucking around out there for a while and went to have a look," he said.
"They were trying to divert cars using orange road cones - just being your typical larrikin teenage boys on the piss.
"I was sitting in the lounge and I heard people screaming and something about calling an ambulance, so I ran into the street.
"The geezer was just lying in the middle of the road, it was hell. People were crying and screaming and we were all very distressed."
The neighbour, who asked not to be named, ran inside to call the police before trying to save the victim.
"I didn't really know what to do though, just tried to stop the bleeding but it was too late."
He thought the male driver of the car was a friend of the victim.
"There was a female passenger in the front seat, and other people in the back, and they were all clearly distressed - I'm pretty sure they all knew each other. They're all local kids."
Sergeant Stu Kearns of the Serious Crash Unit said few details were known but he believed the victim and the driver had been drinking.
"It's unclear at the moment whether the deceased had passed out on the road or had just fallen asleep," he said. "But we believe alcohol was a factor."
Another neighbour, who wanted to be known only as Kate, said the corner on which the accident happened was notorious for crashes.
"There are always cars speeding around here, it's shocking," she said. "The 50km/h zone doesn't start early enough - people are still doing 100 or 110km/h when they come around the corner.
"What's happened is just a waste of a life."
