Tragic Friday on the roads: Third fatal crash in five hours

One person has died in a crash on State Highway 1 north of Auckland this morning - the third death on the roads in just five hours today.

Emergency services were called to the crash just north of Puhoi involving one truck and two vehicles at approximately 10.06am this morning.

"At this stage we can confirm that sadly one person has died at the scene and three others have been injured, two seriously," a spokesperson said.

SH1 was completely blocked and diversions but reopened about 3pm.

The Serious Crash Unit has been advised.

It is the second fatal crash north of the city this morning following an earlier crash on the Albany Expressway that closed the road in both directions.

The expressway was closed between Tawa Dr/Greville Rd Interchange and Mercari Way for a few hours this morning but has since reopened.

FINAL UPDATE 10:00AM
Albany Express Way is now fully OPEN in both directions and the incident has been cleared.^TH
https://t.co/G7GN69G7hW

— Auckland Transport (@AklTransport) October 11, 2018

In the south of the North Island a person died after being struck by a car on State Highway 1 south of Ōtaki.

Police were called to the scene just south of the Ōtaki River Bridge at 5.02am.

FINAL UPDATE 9:45AM
SH1 south of the Otaki River Bridge is now OPEN in both directions. Thank you for your patience while the police and contractors were working on site. ^IF https://t.co/RyiBUqAAeR

— Waka Kotahi NZTA Wellington (@WakaKotahiWgtn) October 11, 2018