Police name man killed in 4WD crash

Police have named the 31-year-old man killed when his 4WD vehicle drove off a Bay of Plenty cliff top early yesterday.

He was Bevan John Reeves from Beachlands, in Auckland.

Mr Reeves had travelled with a group up Thompson's Track, a 4WD access only track over the Kaimai Ranges between Te Aroha and Katikati, near Tauranga, to camp for the night, Sergeant Graham McGurk, of Matamata police said.

He decided to drive to the summit of a hill after the group had been drinking.

He went over the edge, ending up about 100m down in thick bush, he said.

The alarm was raised about 2.30am and police recovered his body yesterday.

Mr Reeves was one of four to die in vehicle accidents over the weekend.

His death was one of two not counted as part of the official road toll, as it was off-road.

The second off-road victim was six-year-old Amber Taylor Vincent, from Auckland, who died when the quad bike she was driving rolled on top of her in the Waikato.

Amber had been riding the bike at Thundercross Valley Bike Park, near Glen Murray, Huntly, on Saturday when it went down a steep bank and rolled, crushing her.

A motorcyclist died after colliding with another motorcycle in north Canterbury, on Saturday morning.

The crash happened on Waiau bridge, about 23km northeast of Culverden, just before 4pm. The victim's name has not yet been released.

Peter Abraham Oliver, 64, from Bulls, died after hitting a powerpole in Marton, 30km southeast of Wanganui, about 10.30am on Saturday.

Live wires trapped his 11-year-old grandson in the vehicle for 20 minutes.

Constable Paul Grayson, from Marton police, said the boy was in shock and was in the care of relatives.

He could not confirm reports Mr Oliver had a heart attack, but said it was "more than likely he has had a medical issue".

- NZPA