Police release name of SH5 crash victim

Police attended a fatal crash yesterday afternoon that claimed the life of 31-year-old Derick Johann Anderson along the Napier-Taupo Rd. PHOTO/FILE

Police have released the name of a man who died yesterday afternoon in a crash along the Napier-Taupo Rd.

He was 43-year-old Stewart James Niwa Vercoe, known as Niwa, of Hastings.

Emergency services were called to the crash between two vehicles near Te Haroto along the State Highway 5 at about 4.20pm.

Four people were transported to the Hawke's Bay Hospital; one person by Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter and three by ambulance. Mr Vercoe died at the scene.

This morning a Hawke's Bay District Health Board spokeswoman confirmed a female in her 40s remained in a critical condition and a male in his 60s was in a serious but stable condition.

Two male teenagers were also in serious but stable conditions.

Police extended their condolences to Mr Vercoe's family and friends and confirmed the serious crash unit was continuing to investigate the cause of the crash.

Napier and Bayview volunteer fire brigades were among the services that attended the scene yesterday.

The road was blocked for several hours but was reopened by 8pm.

Yesterday's fatality brings the region's road toll, from Wairoa to Tararua, up to 16; three more than the total number of fatalities for the region last year.