KEY POINTS:
A person is dead after a car hit a tree near the northern Southland town of Athol, 111km north of Invercargill, this afternoon.
Emergency services were called to the crash scene on State Highway 6 near the intersection with McMillan Rd just before 2.10pm.
Police said it was unclear whether the deceased was male or female. One lane of the highway was closed while a scene examination was being done.
- NZPA
