68-year-old dies from crash injuries

A man injured in this crash died in hospital on Sunday night. Photo / Stephen Parker

A man seriously injured in a crash east of Rotorua has died.

He was 68-year-old Monty Broughton from Taupo. He died in hospital on Sunday night shortly after 11pm after suffering lower legs and abdomen injuries. He was a passenger in a vehicle that crashed into a ditch off State Highway 33 between Mourea and Okere Falls just after 4pm.

There were three others in the vehicle, including his wife and their friends, said Rotorua police Senior Sergeant Malcolm Collins. The other three suffered moderate injuries. The Rotorua Fire Brigade used the jaws of life to cut them free from the vehicle.

Emergency services came across the crash while on their way to another crash in the area, on Maniatutu Rd. No one was seriously hurt in that crash.

Meanwhile, police have named the young woman who died in a crash near Taupo on Sunday.

She was Stevie Rangataua-Alexander, 18, from Auckland. She died at the scene of a two vehicle crash on State Highway 1 north of Taupo. She was the driver of one of the vehicles. Her death has been referred to the Coroner.

Eleven people have now died on New Zealand roads this holiday period. The holiday period officially ends at 6am today.