Fatal brings Northland road toll to 18

The two vehicles the involved in a head-on collision in the Far North which lead to the death of one person. Photo/Supplied

A head-on collision on a Far North road has led to the death of a woman and taken Northland's road toll to 18 so far this year.

The crash on Houhora Heads Rd happened about 10.35am yesterday with emergency services crews called to the scene shortly after.

Initial reports were two people were trapped in the same vehicle but by about 11.15am one of those people had died.

The Northland Rescue Helicopter landed and took two people to Whangarei Hospital, both in serious condition while two other people had minor injuries.

The Serious Crash Unit was notified and an investigation into the crash is under way following an examination of the scene.

There were four deaths in May last year and by the end of that month the road toll was 15. The region's road toll this year is currently 18.

The year got off to a bad start with five fatalities in January, four in February and six in March.

Head of the Road Policing Unit Inspector Wayne Ewers said it was a rough start to the year and if the fatalities had continued at the same rate the region would have been tracking towards more than 50 deaths.

He said investigations into yesterday's crash would continue and charges could be laid.

Northland made up 3.4 per cent of the New Zealand population but last year, with 40 fatalities, accounted for 11 per cent of the road deaths in the country.

In 1989 there were 55 deaths on Northland roads, while the lowest on record was seven fatalities in 2011.