A man has died after a car and truck collided near Tauranga this evening.
A blue Subaru car heading towards State Highway 2 and a truck travelling in the opposite direction collided on Plummers Point Rd in Whakamarama about 5.15pm.
Sergeant Scott Merritt of Tauranga police said it appeared the car, carrying three occupants, crossed the centre line before the collision.
A male front seat passenger in the car died at the scene.
The car's driver and a rear seat passenger were taken to Tauranga Hospital with moderate injuries.
"Thankfully the driver of the truck appears to be uninjured," Mr Merritt said.
The truck had been carrying flowers.
A Fire Service spokesperson earlier said the passenger had been trapped in the car and firefighters were working to free them.
The collision occurred on a section of road where a railway crossing is.
Tauranga police officer Nigel Ramsden said the cause of the accident was not known, but did not rule out speed, alcohol or drugs.
A Whakamarama man, who did not want to be identified, said he hadn't seen a crash as bad as this for several years.
He had lived at the property for 43 years and although he had seen a number of serious crashes, he had never seen a fatality.
A reporter at the scene said traffic was being diverted through a neighbouring farm property, as the crash scene had been blocked off.
Police urged motorists to avoid the area as delays were expected.
Police serious crash unit investigators were at the scene.
The crash follows the death of a French man who was killed when the car he was travelling in collided with a truck on State Highway 2 near Omokoroa Rd, Whakamarama.