A car crash near Waipu that killed a 6-year-old boy in the early hours of Saturday morning is believed to have happened after the driver fell asleep at the wheel.
A vehicle containing two women and two children was heading south on the Waipu Bypass of State Highway One, near Shoemaker Rd, when it veered off the road at around 2.30am.
The mother of the 6-year-old boy was driving, and is believed to be in her mid-20s.
Two ambulances, one St John rapid-response vehicle, two Waipu brigade fire trucks and a van, and police attended the crash.
The boy died at the scene, despite efforts to resuscitate him, an emergency services spokesman said.
The driver was believed to have fallen asleep at the wheel, authorities said.
Two of the other passengers were treated at the scene for minor injuries, and one was taken to Whangarei Hospital with minor injuries. One of the police officers who attended the crash, Constable Anthony Rogers, said both lanes of the highway were closed for several hours,
All passengers were believed to be from Auckland.
Whangarei police Acting Sergeant Johan Van Loggerenberg said the police Serious Crash Unit was investigating.
The death takes Northland's road toll for the year to 13.
There were 21 road deaths in Northland last year, 12 of which happened between August and December. The last fatal crash in Northland was on October 9, when a 61-year-old woman from Waipapakauri died near Awanui after her car left the road and collided with a concrete fence post.
Crash investigator Senior Constable Warren Bunn said at the time the woman was the only person in the car and had been travelling south near Awanui when she failed to take a moderate left-hand bend.
The car had left the road and hit a fence. The woman had died at the scene.
On April 5 a head-on collision between two trucks ripped the cab from a light refrigerated delivery truck, killing the driver instantly. The light truck was heading north when it veered across the centre line on a gentle left-hand bend between Flyger and Cotton Rds.
Initial investigations had indicated the driver had fallen asleep causing him to veer across the road.
The driver of the heavier truck had his son in the cab and they both suffered serious injuries.