Two people were killed and another seriously injured in two separate accidents on Franklin roads yesterday morning.
A 53-year-old male pedestrian was hit by a car on State Highway 22 in Karaka at about 8am.
The man was on his way to work and was hit by an eastbound vehicle as he crossed the road after getting off a bus.
He was taken to Middlemore Hospital, but later died from his injuries.
The woman driver who hit him, described as being in her 60s, was uninjured but shaken, police said.
Thirty minutes later, a 67-year-old man died in a three-car crash in nearby Glenbrook.
The crash occurred on Glenbrook Rd, near the intersection with Glenbrook Station Rd about 8.20am.
The 67-year-old man was travelling north on Glenbrook Rd in an Isuzu four-wheel-drive, following a Holden Commodore.
Both northbound vehicles and a light truck travelling in the opposite direction collided, near Glenbrook Station Rd.
The 67-year-old, who has yet to be named, was from the area and died at the scene.
The male driver of the light truck was airlifted to Middlemore Hospital with serious injuries and the male driver of the Commodore was taken to the same hospital with moderate injuries.
The police area commander for Counties Manukau South, Inspector Gary Hill, said it had been a "truly horrific morning on Franklin roads".
"We urge all motorists to take extreme care when they get behind the wheel and not to get complacent," Mr Hill said.
The National MP for Hunua, Dr Paul Hutchison, said the accidents illustrated how dangerous Franklin roads were.
Dr Hutchison said recent figures from the NZ Transport Agency showed between 17,000 and 20,000 cars used the roads between Glenbrook Rd and Drury.
Meanwhile the body of a motorcyclist was found yesterday in a gully near his farm after a crash in the lower North Island.
Tony George Summerell, 41, of Norsewood, near Dannevirke, left his farm on a motorbike around 4pm on Monday.
His family reported him missing to police in the early hours of yesterday.
At about 10am a farmer found the motorcyclist's body down a gully near his farm on Buckland Rd, Ormondville.
Police said Mr Summerell left the road at an unsealed section and dropped up to 10m down a ditch.
The serious crash unit is investigating and police said alcohol had not been ruled out as a possible factor in the crash.
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