Labour Weekend road toll rises to three after person dies in single-vehicle crash on east coast

The Labour Weekend road toll has risen to three after a person died in a crash on an east coast highway overnight.

Police say the motorist died following a single-vehicle crash on State Highway 35 about 6km north of Waihau Bay.

The fatal accident happened around 10:35pm.

A spokesperson said inquiries were continuing into the circumstances of the crash.

Waihau Bay is 42 km north of Gisborne on the east coast road and is an area popular with campers in summer.

It follows two earlier deaths on North Island roads since the holiday weekend started on Friday.

A person died in a car crash in the Lower Hutt suburb of Taitā.

Police said they were called to the single-car smash at about 11am on Saturday.

Another person died in a crash in Waikato. Police said the crash occurred on Horotiu Rd, off State Highway 39 at about 11am on Saturday.

Last year's Labour Weekend holiday road toll was eight.

New Zealand is tracking towards having one of the highest road death tolls in more than a decade with 296 deaths as of October 20.

The toll is similar to October 2018's tally, with 2018 and 2017 the worst years since 2009.