See us, police urge hit-run driver

Police are urging a hit-and-run driver to come forward after a man was found dead on a road near Maungaturoto early yesterday.
The body of a 24-year-old from Maungaturoto was found on State Highway 12 about 5am yesterday, just a few hundred metres to the west of the township, after having been hit by a vehicle.
Waipu Senior Constable Martin Geddes said the man's body could have been on the road for an hour or so before the discovery.
The body was found in the middle of the east-bound lane, in an area known as the "S" bends, west of Maungaturoto township by a motorist on his way to work.
"It's a hit and run. It appears (the dead man) was walking easterly, toward Maungaturoto when he was hit," Mr Geddes said.
The dead man may have been returning to Maungaturoto from Paparoa or another nearby settlement when he was run over.
"It was on quite a winding series of S-bends and in the middle of the night, in the dark, it may not have been easy (for the driver) to have spotted him," Mr Geddes said.
"However, the person who hit him would have known that he or she had run somebody over.
"If the person who did this came forward that would help. It's not too late to come forward now."
He called for the driver to front up so the matter could be cleared up.
"It may have been a total accident, but people still need to stop (after an accident) and let us know what's happened," Mr Geddes said.
"The driver may have panicked, but there's still time to come forward and clear the matter up. And the sooner the better."
He said there might be other people who could shed some light on the accident also.
Police wanted to hear from anybody who drove along State Highway 12 through Maungaturoto between about 3.30am and 5am yesterday, or anybody in the area who saw or heard anything suspicious.
Mr Geddes also urged people to come forward if they saw a vehicle with a damaged front end.
"From the look of the accident scene the vehicle (involved) would have had dings in it or other signs (that it had been in a collision)," he said.
The part of SH12 where the hit and run occurred was closed for more than an hour while members of the police serious crash unit investigated the scene. Traffic had to take a diversion to get around the accident spot.
The dead man's name was not available as next of kin had not been informed of the death.
Mr Geddes said anybody with information about the hit and run could ring the Whangarei police station, in confidence, on (09) 4304500.
• The death takes to six the number of people who have died on Northland's roads this year. That follows last year's record low of 27 people dying on Northland roads, the lowest toll since records began more than 40 years ago.