Manawatu fatal crash victim named

File photo / NZ Herald

Police have released the name of the elderly man who was killed in one of two fatal crashes in Manawatu over the weekend.

Waipukurau man Patrick Joseph Mooney, 85, died after a collision between a Nissan 4WD and the Nissan sedan he was driving near the intersection of State Highway 2 and Priest Rd, near Woodville, about 10.15am.

Mr Mooney was the the sole occupant of one vehicle.

A man and a woman in the the other vehicle were uninjured.

Police were investigating the cause of the crash.

The death came after a 27-year-old Chinese woman was killed when her car missed a turn and hit a fence on SH57 near Tokomaru on Saturday night.

The woman was believed to be dead by the time firefighters arrived at 8.14pm.

Central fire communications spokesman Mike Wanoa said the woman's body had to be freed from the wreck by firefighters.

He said her name would be released once her overseas-based parents had been told.