One dead after SH1 crash

A 28-year-old Whangarei man died when the car he was driving collided with a vehicle travelling in the opposite direction on State Highway 1 near Whangarei this morning.

Police and emergency services were called to the crash in Oakley, about 15km south of Whangarei, about 10am.

The driver of a Holden car was dead by the time emergency services arrived, Senior Constable Warren Bunn said.

His 26-year-old passenger, understood to be a friend, was taken to Whangarei Hospital with serious injuries where he is in intensive care.

The occupants of the other car, a woman aged 63, and her 59-year-old male passenger were also taken to hospital.

A third car narrowly avoided the collision by swerving off the road and down a grass bank. None of its occupants were injured.

Police were still trying to identify the driver of a white bus who might have seen the crash happen and urged the driver or passengers to contact Whangarei Police.

The road was closed for about two hours and traffic diversions put in place.

Initial indications were that speed and a wet road surface were factors involved in the crash.

The name of the dead man would not be released until next of kin had been notified.

- NZPA