One person has died and another was injured after a car hit a power pole in Pākōwhai, between Napier and Hastings, on Saturday night.
The single-vehicle crash on Pākōwhai Rd, near the intersection with Brookdfields Rd, knocked out power for about 150 properties and happened about 7.25pm.
The incident happened close to Pākōwhai Store.
It is the second fatal crash at that location in 14 months.
A police spokesperson confirmed one person died at the scene on Saturday and one person suffered moderate injuries and was taken to hospital.
The injured patient, a woman aged in her 20s, self-discharged from Hawke’s Bay Hospital later the same night.
Unison confirmed a power outage in the area was caused by the crash, which involved a car hitting a power pole.
The power pole had to be replaced overnight on Saturday.
A total of 158 properties were impacted by the power outage, with power completely restored about 5am on Sunday, according to Unison.
Pākōwhai Store owner Naren Soni said more could be done to make that stretch of Pākōwhai Rd and the intersection with Brookfields Rd safer.
He said the crash occurred at almost exactly at the same spot as another fatal crash which happened in July last year. It was also in the evening, and a young woman died in that two-vehicle crash.
Soni said there were “four or five” street lights over the intersection at present, but he would like to see them made brighter and have more installed along Pākōwhai Rd.
He said reflectors would also be helpful on the median divider, which can be hard to see at night.
The Serious Crash Unit attended the scene on Saturday.
Inquiries by police into the circumstances of the crash are ongoing, including whether the car hit the median divider at the intersection before hitting a power pole.
The speed limit drops from 80km/h to 60km/h along Pākōwhai Rd around the intersection with Brookfields Rd.