A truck driver trying to avoid debris from an accident scene accidentally ran over a crash victim, police say.
Taupo police say Scott Allen Sutherland, 33, of Whakamaru, died at the crash scene on State Highway 32, 5km from his home. Mr Sutherland was thrown from
his car when it rolled several times on a bend about 1.35am on Saturday.
Mr Sutherland, who was lying in the centre of the road, was then hit by a north-bound truck and trailer unit as the driver tried to avoid crash debris.
The Whakamaru man had been driving north on SH32 with his neighbour, 49-year-old John Davison.
Mr Davison was trapped and had to be cut free by firefighters. Both his legs were broken and he suffered other serious injuries.
However, police say these were not life threatening. He was taken to Tokoroa Hospital before being transferred to Waikato Hospital.
Investigations are continuing, but police believe alcohol and speed were factors in the crash.
Police want to hear from anyone who saw Mr Sutherland's car - a Mitsubishi Galant - before the crash.
Senior Constable Peter Sowter, of the Taupo police, said it was unclear whether Mr Sutherland was already dead when the truck hit him.
The truck driver, a 66-year-old Waitara man, was not hurt.
Mr Sowter said this tragedy highlighted the need to remind drivers of a police advertising campaign - that country people die on country roads.
Meanwhile, three women in their 20s were injured, two of them seriously, in a two-car crash 3km south of Tarawera Tavern on the Napier-Taupo highway just after midday on Saturday. The drivers, one from Taupo, the other from Waipukurau, received multiple injuries and were flown to Hastings Hospital by Taupo's Lion Foundation Rescue Helicopter and the Hastings-based Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter.
They were both admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.
Senior Constable Ken Hunt of the Napier police said a third woman, also from Taupo, was taken by road and is in a stable condition. The road was closed for several hours.
