Teen cyclist killed on Auckland's North Shore after late-night hit-and-run

A 15-year-old is dead following a hit-and-run on Auckland's North Shore.

It was one of three fatal crashes around the country last night, including another crash where a teenager died.

Emergency services were called to the Oteha Valley Road north-bound off-ramp near the park and ride in Albany shortly before 11pm, police said.

A teenager riding a bike at the time of the crash died at the scene.

Police have notified next of kin.

Enquiries are underway to locate the driver of the vehicle, who left the scene.

Speaking from the scene last night, Waitemata police officer Senior Seargeant Ian Byrne said police were investigating the circumstances of the crash.

"We've had a tragic accident this evening involving a cyclist and a vehicle," he said.

The cyclist had died and police were last night trying to gather as much evidence at the scene as possible.

While it was not yet clear whether visibility had been an issue, Byrne reminded cyclists to make sure they could be seen while riding at night.

"You need to be aware of where you are and whether you can be seen or not."

Five weeks ago a pedestrian was hit and killed on the same stretch of road, about 2km from last night's crash site.

Several hours after last night's Albany crash, in Wellington another teenager died when the stolen car they were in crashed near Tawa with six people inside.

The driver of the car failed to stop for police near the Terrace tunnel on State Highway 1 in Wellington shortly before 3am, police said.

It had been reported stolen the previous day.

An officer in a patrol car gave chase to the vehicle, which continued north on the motorway before crashing south of the Tawa interchange.

The teenager, who died at the scene, was one of six people inside the car.

Five others were taken to Wellington Hospital with moderate to minor injuries.

There will be both a Serious Crash Unit investigation and an internal police investigation into the incident.

And in Ashburton, one person died and three others were injured in a single-car crash on Wakanui Road about 3am.

The Serious Crash Unit is investigating.

The official road toll stands at 146 deaths from January 1 to yesterday, but was unlikely to include the three from overnight.

This time last year, 139 people had died on the road.