Bay of Plenty crash: One driver confirmed dead

The scene of the crash on State Highway 2 at Pukehina.

A driver has died after a crash on State Highway 2 at Pukehina, police say.

Emergency services were called to the two-vehicle crash, east of Rodgers Rd, just before 2pm yesterday.

The other driver was in hospital with serious injuries, police said in a statement this afternoon.

A witness said a car and truck were involved and the driver of the car had died.

A police spokesman told the Bay of Plenty Times the delay in releasing information was because the deceased’s family were being notified.

He said the drivers were the only people involved in the crash.

The road was closed for several hours yesterday while the police Serious Crash Unit examined the scene.

Police said the investigation into what happened was continuing.

Car was ‘crushed’

A witness at the scene on Monday said he could see that a car and truck appeared to be involved. He said the car was “crushed” and there was a trail of debris on the road.

The overturned truck was on the railway side of the road.

The witness, who did not want to be named, said he was travelling from Whakatāne to Tauranga when he came across the scene, probably minutes after the crash happened.

He saw a person being helped from the cab of the truck and first responders arriving at the scene. He understood a person in the car had died.

Video from the crash scene showed a truck and trailer on its side, half on the road and half in a paddock.

The contents of the trailer had spilt onto the side of the road.

A KiwiRail spokesperson said part of the railway line in the area was closed by police for a while, delaying a freight service, but it had since reopened.