Police believe excessive speed was a contributing factor in the fifth fatal crash of the Easter holiday period. File photo / NZ Herald
Holidaymakers faced a long, slow trip back to the capital tonight, with traffic flows slow from Waiouru to Wellington.
A police central communications spokesman told NZPA it was "pretty chaotic" and "pretty congested" as people tried to get back to Wellington following the Easter break.
Those trying to get back
to Auckland faced similar woes, with police urging motorists to be patient.
"It's just as busy as expected for an Easter Monday," Inspector Peter Raynes told NZPA.
"Just be patient and drive to the conditions."
Traffic around Christchurch was extremely busy, while Dunedin was moderate, police said.
Five people have died on the roads since 4pm last Thursday.
The 21-year-old man killed after an allegedly stolen car crashed in Wellington yesterday was Paul Philip Wilson, who had recently moved to the capital from Auckland.
The crash happened about 1.45am in Fraser Avenue, in suburban Johnsonville.
Mr Wilson was in a Subaru stationwagon, which was allegedly stolen from a nearby address.
Three other people were injured in the crash, in which speed and alcohol were believed to have been factors.
On Saturday, Dwight Cram, 50, died when his motorcycle and a vehicle towing a horse float crashed in the Hawkes Bay.
The crash happened north of Wairoa, about 90km south of Gisborne.
Yesterday, a 19-year-old man from Waitara died after the vehicle he was in crashed into trees on State Highway 3 at Eltham, 50km south of New Plymouth, about 9pm.
Two men were trapped in the vehicle. A second man, a 21-year-old from Eltham, was cut from the vehicle and taken to hospital with serious injuries.
Police believe excessive speed contributed to the crash, which the serious crash unit is investigating.
Also yesterday, a man died from injuries he received following a collision in Wellington on Saturday.
The man's motorbike and a car collided at the intersection of Victoria Street and Karo Drive.
The serious crash unit is investigating.
Earlier, a 19-year-old man was killed in a crash in Otago yesterday morning after a vehicle left State Highway 83 at Otekaieke, 54km northwest of Oamaru.
He was Mitchell Thomas Clarke, a dairy worker from Duntroon, police said.
Mr Clarke died at the scene, and two other people had to be cut from the vehicle, with one remaining in Dunedin hospital in a serious condition.
- NZPA
