A Kerikeri man is likely to face serious driving charges after a police probe found he was travelling at high speed moments before a crash.
The 23-year-old was driving a modified Nissan Silvia which slammed into the back of a parked Volkswagen on State Highway 10, just north of the Kerikeri crossroads, on September 28.
The Volkswagen's occupants had stopped to help a driver who had veered off the road and crashed minutes earlier. He died at the scene.
The driver of the Silvia sustained only moderate injuries but his two female passengers, aged 17 and 18, suffered multiple serious injuries. They had to be cut out of the wreckage and were flown to Whangarei Hospital by rescue helicopter.
Sergeant Kevin Milne, of Kawakawa, said police were waiting to interview a number of people, including the two passengers, before deciding on charges.