Police name pair who died in fatal Waikato crash

Waikato police have named the people who died in a road crash near Hamilton yesterday.

They were Priscilla Rangiawha, 48, of Hamilton, and Abraham Maraki, 40, also of Hamilton. They were the sole occupants of their vehicles.

The crash occurred when a southbound car crossed the centre line and collided with a northbound courier van on State Highway 1 near Matangi, just south of Hamilton, about 11.26am yesterday.

SH1 was closed for about 90 minutes after the crash and the clean-up was made harder because brake and hydraulic fluid had spilled on to the road.

Some drivers abused police officers while the crash scene was being cleared.

A police spokesman said the cars were so badly damaged that they were removed from the scene with the victims still in them.

- NZPA