Passenger dies after car hits tree

The wreck of the car after the accident in Napier. Picture / Steven McNicholl

A backseat passenger died when the car he was travelling in left the road and crashed into a tree last night.

State Highway 2 at Awatoto, near Napier, remained closed this morning after the accident.

The dead man was Matthew Marwood, 22, of Napier.

Four other men were taken to hospital. Steven Heremia and Dillan Rogers-Miller, both 20, were in Hawke's Bay Hospital's intensive care unit. Mr Heremia had serious head injuries and Mr Rogers-Miller a broken pelvis.

David Gregan, also 20, and 19-year-old Grant Tyler had minor to moderate injuries and had been kept in overnight for observation.

The driver of the car had been routinely tested for blood-alcohol but police would not comment on whether alcohol was a factor.

A detour was in place while police established the cause of the crash. No other vehicles were involved.

Police are asking anyone who saw a blue coloured Honda Integra in Napier last night to contact them.

- NZPA, HAWKE'S BAY TODAY