KEY POINTS:
Two men were killed after their motorcycles crashed head-on in a freak accident on a Coromandel country road yesterday morning.
Travelling together in a convoy of motorcycle enthusiasts, it is believed that one of the men raced ahead of the group before turning around and colliding with a riding companion.
Both died at the scene.
The smash happened on a winding corner on the southbound lane on State Highway 25 near Whangamata, 3km north of the Opoutere turn-off.
Debris from the wrecked bikes was scattered across the road. Southbound traffic was diverted to Thames as police investigated the crash site.
Sergeant Vince Ranger of Whangamata police said the names of the victims would not be released until next of kin were notified.
He could not confirm which motorcycle crossed the centre-line as the accident was being investigated by the Serious Crash Unit in Hamilton.
"Both were in their lanes prior to the accident, but I can't say which lane they ended up in until the report is written."
Serious Crash Unit investigator Sergeant Greg Waters confirmed the two motorcycles crashed head-on on a winding stretch of country road.
The two bikes were "completely written off", Whangamata chief fire officer Peter Waters said.
"The front wheel was ripped off one of the bikes. It looked like they had hit each other and just stopped, there were no skid marks or gouge marks."
A doctor was the first to arrive on the scene and tried to resuscitate the victims before the ambulance arrived.
One died almost instantly while the other died before ambulance staff could carry him into the Westpac Rescue Helicopter which flew from Auckland.
In another fatal accident, a man died when the car he was driving rolled near Palmerston North late yesterday morning.
Sergeant Mike Lawton of Feilding police said the 63-year-old driver lost control of his Mitsubishi L2000 ute as he came off a passing lane at the top of Mt Stewart about 11.40am.
He was the sole occupant.
