Road toll rises as 94-year-old man dies six days after Canterbury car crash

A man is dead after an crash last week on the corner of SH1 and Dickeys Rd on the outskirts of Christchurch. Photo / Google Maps

An elderly man has died six days after a car crash in Christchurch.

Police today said man, 94, died in hospital overnight from injuries suffered in a crash last Friday afternoon.

The road toll now stands at 298 - with 15 people dying alone on the country's roads within the first fortnight of October.

Dickeys Rd was this morning cordoned off at the intersection with Main North Rd as the police's Serious Crash Unit investigated.

Dickeys Rd is CLOSED at Main North Rd (SH1) in #Chch due to a police operation. No alternative route is available. Delay your journey ^LT

— TFC (@TransportChCh) October 12, 2017

A police spokeswoman said the crash happened about 4.05pm and the man was taken to hospital as a precaution. However, his injuries proved far graver than first thought and he died.

The fatality is the latest in a grim period on the country's roads.

Those killed in the past seven days include four who died in a smash north of Taupo on Tuesday, and the three lives lost in a head-on collision in Southland on Sunday night.

The road toll was 254 at the same time last year.