Roads claim sixth life in five days of horror

An elderly man whose car hit a bridge east of Hastings yesterday has become the sixth person to die in crashes on Hawke's Bay roads within five days.

Emergency services were called at 3.24pm, after the crash at the western end of the Tukituki River Bridge on Waimarama Rd.

The man died at the scene, but the cause of death was still to be established last night.

Eastern Police highway patrol Sergeant Nigel Hurley said the man was the only occupant of the vehicle and was travelling towards Waimarama when the vehicle struck an abutment on the left-hand side of the bridge.

Police were seeking information from anyone who had seen the purple Rover hatchback in the short time before the crash, in the Havelock North area or on Waimarama Rd.

Last night police had not released the name or age of the man, but Mr Hurley said he was from Hawke's Bay.

Meanwhile, another man was taken to hospital after the vehicle he was driving collided with another car near Hastings early last night.

The crash happened in York Rd, between Hastings and Flaxmere about 5.30pm, as one of the vehicles was exiting a driveway on to the road.

Five people died in two tragedies on Hawke's Bay roads just a few hours apart during Queen's Birthday weekend, bringing the road toll in the Bay this year to 14, six more than for the corresponding period last year.

The toll this year includes two crashes, which each killed four men, the worst two crashes on New Zealand roads since four people, including a Dannevirke couple and their daughter, died in a head-on crash in King Country in May 2009.