Witnesses to double fatality sought

File photo / Martin Sykes

Police have appealed for witnesses to a high-speed crash which killed two men in the Auckland suburb of Mt Albert early yesterday.

Both men died almost instantly when their car hit a traffic light pole.

Police have yet to confirm both men were wearing seat belts, but said the force of the impact meant belts would not have been enough to save their lives.

Ru-i-te-tokorangi Maruariki, 26, and Tau Allan Fotuhetule, 30, both of Mt Roskill, were pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics after the crash shortly after midnight.

Sergeant Matt Ford of the police serious crash unit said they needed witnesses to the crash or had seen the car just before it hit the pole.

The crash impact wrapped the Nissan Primera car around the pole.

Alcohol was found in the car, he said, but it would be known if the driver had been drinking until blood test results were available, said Mr Ford.

- NZPA