Police trying to piece together crash cause

A Christchurch man died at the scene of a single vehicle crash on Haldon Rd, a gravel road near Lake Tekapo, just before midnight on Saturday. Photo / ThinkStock

Police investigating a fatal crash in Canterbury over the weekend are trying to piece together why the car went out of control in clear weather on a straight stretch of road.

Ernest John William Rowe, 49, of Christchurch, died at the scene of the single vehicle crash on Haldon Rd, a gravel road near Lake Tekapo, just before midnight on Saturday.

Two other people were in the vehicle, one of whom was flown to Christchurch Hospital with serious injuries.

Constable Joe Rush of Twizel police said the car crashed on a straight stretch of road on a clear night.

The air was cold but there was no frost on the ground, and the serious crash unit had ruled out speed as a factor.

"We're still trying to establish the full set of circumstances around how the accident happened," Mr Rush told NZPA.

"It appears that the vehicle lost control on the gravel and they've just slid across the road. As soon as they've hit the grass verge, the vehicle has overturned and there was a ditch that they've rolled into."

While the vehicle was rolling, two occupants were flung from the vehicle, including Mr Rowe who was killed.

Police were still trying to establish who was driving.

Two of the occupants, from Christchurch, were pest controllers who had been working at various stations in the area.

The man who was flown to Christchurch Hospital was in a stable condition with injuries including broken ribs and bones.

The injuries were not thought to be life threatening but police were waiting for his condition to improve before speaking with him.

The crash was one of two fatal accidents over the weekend, following the death of a 23-year-old man in a crash on Muriwai Rd near Waimauku Village, 23km north west of Auckland City, about 3pm Saturday.

Another man and two women who were in the car were taken to Auckland Hospital. One was discharged and the others' injuries were not thought to be life-threatening.

Acting Sergeant Colin Nuttall, of the serious crash unit, said the car had been travelling behind a friend's car when it crossed the centre line.

"He then lost control of the vehicle which has then rotated and impacted on a bank and then a tree," he told NZPA.

The other car had been seized by police, because there was a possibility the vehicles had been racing before the crash, Mr Nuttall said.

There were conflicting reports as to whether the two cars had been racing. Alcohol was found in the vehicle that crashed but it was not known if it was a factor.

The men's deaths were the first weekend road fatalities for weeks, as no one died on New Zealand's roads during the past two weekends.

- NZPA