An American tourist out for a jog in Waikato on Saturday morning made a grisly find when he spotted a badly damaged car with a dead man inside.
Earl David Karaka Kingi, 22, was found by the tourist inside his crashed car about 7.45am just north of Otorohanga's town centre, Senior Sergeant Jeff Penno said.
"We're still working to establish the time of the crash. However, Mr Kingi left Cambridge about 4.30am and was expected at work about 5am.''
The crash was still being investigated, but initial indications were Mr Kingi failed to make a slight bend, and his car left the road and hit a tree.
The car then went down a bank and came to rest in an industrial yard.
Speed appeared to be a contributing factor, Mr Penno said.
Members of the Otorohanga Volunteer Fire Brigade had to cut Mr Kingi free from the wreckage.
Emergency services closed the road for four hours.
His death is the 10th on Waikato roads this year compared with 12 at the same time last year.