Medical condition may have caused crash

File photo / Northern Advocate

An elderly man is dead after his car swerved into a park van in Papakura, south of Auckland today but he may not be added to the holiday road toll, which now stands at 11.

Police said if an autopsy showed the man died from a medical condition he would not be included in the holiday road toll.

Inspector Danny Meade said it appeared from witnesses at the scene that the man may have had a stroke before the crash at 11.25am.

He said members of the public found the man dead.

The man, who was the only occupant in the car, appeared to be driving normally when he swerved and hit the parked van at relatively low speed in Porchester Rd, he said.

"When they got to the car the driver was already deceased.

"It could have been a heart attack, a stroke or something similar. At this stage we are not ruling out the possibility that the crash was brought about by a medical issue," he said.

Mr Meade said Porchester Rd is closed with diversions in place and the police serious crash unit is investigating.

No one else was injured in the incident.

The road toll for the official holiday weekend was 11. It began at 4pm on Christmas Eve and ends at 6am tomorrow. Last year, 13 people died on the roads during the holiday period.

Earlier, police named a 52-year-old man who died after his vehicle rolled in Marlborough.

Wayne William Anderson, a machine operator from Blenheim, died when he lost control of his vehicle and rolled on State Highway 6 at Canvastown, 51km north-west of Blenheim, shortly before 9pm on January 2.

Havelock police Senior Constable Maurice Horne said the crash could be attributed to "the three evils" - speed, alcohol and no seatbelt.

"He hit a gravel section where the seal had been lifted off the highway (due to recent flooding), lost control, and clipped the guard rail which caused his vehicle to roll in the air," he said.

Mr Anderson was thrown clear of the vehicle, which landed down a bank about 25m away.

Mr Horne said if Mr Anderson had been wearing a seatbelt "he would have fully survived".

Police yesterday named a 48-year-old motorcyclist who died after a collision with another rider.

Mark Gerard Egbers, 48, of Auckland, was killed when his Honda motorcycle collided with a Suzuki motorcycle about 12.55pm on January 2 on the winding SH25 which crosses the Coromandel Peninsula.

The police serious crash unit was still investigating but it appeared the Suzuki, ridden by a 31-year-old Auckland man, crossed the centre line on a corner, hitting Mr Egbers head-on, Waikato police communications manager Andrew McAlley said.

The Suzuki rider was taken to hospital in a critical condition.

Another man, 20-year-old Sean Coe, died the same day in Waikato Hospital following a collision between a car and a van just north of Hamilton on New Year's Day.

Mr Coe was a passenger in the car which crossed the centre line and collided with the van carrying five disabled children on SH1 at Horotiu about 8.30am, Waikato acting road policing manager Senior Sergeant Jeff Penno said.

Speed, alcohol and driver fatigue all appeared to be factors, he said.

Another man in the car was badly hurt but the children in the van escaped injury.

The official holiday road toll period started at 4pm on Christmas Eve and runs until 6am on January 5. Last year, 13 people died on the roads during the period.

Tanisha Morris, 13, died after the car she was in and a truck collided on SH2 at Whirinaki, 14km north of Napier, about 3pm on Friday.

Tamataia Pera Maurangi, 35, from Point England in Auckland, was killed in a single car crash just south of Hastings about 1.45pm on Saturday.

Also on Saturday, a man died after he went through a vehicle windscreen when two cars collided in the Bay of Plenty, about 5pm, police northern communications Inspector Matt Sillars said.

Three other people were taken to hospital with minor to moderate injuries.

The first victim of the holiday period was Gayle Jean Anderson, 44, who died in a crash near Dunedin on Christmas Eve.

Just minutes into Christmas Day, 40-year-old Vineshwar Singh died in a hit-and-run in Pukekoe, south Auckland.

On December 28, Mary-Lee Huata, 17, died after a crash south of Wairoa in northern Hawke's Bay. A 13-year-old boy was driving the Toyota Hilux she was a passenger in.

Sebastian Hirling, 16, was killed about 1.30pm on December 29 after a ute rolled onto him at Reporoa, 47km northeast of Taupo.

Hirling and a 15-year-old boy had been sitting on the rear of the utility tray.

The 15-year-old suffered back and spinal injuries.

Police were investigating and said charges were likely.

The same day 38-year-old Te Reimana Mathew Peina, of Wanganui, was killed when the motorcycle he was riding and a car collided on a gravel road off SH4, north of Wanganui.