One person has died in a single-vehicle crash in Northland this afternoon in the first fatality of the preliminary Easter road toll.
Police were called to State Highway 12 near Ruawai at around 2pm on Friday.
“The sole occupant of the vehicle died at the scene,” a police spokesperson said.
St John responded to the crash with two ambulances, while Fire and Emergency NZ responded with one truck from Ruawai.
The NZ Transport Agency said the highway was closed between the intersections of Simpson Rd and Te Kowhai Rd.
Inspector Peter McKennie of the national road policing team said safety should be top of mind for drivers as they travelled the country for the long weekend.
“So far in 2025, we’ve seen far too many people lose their lives on our roads.
“Road safety is simply something we all have to take a greater responsibility for if we’re genuinely serious about reducing harm on our roads.”
The official Easter holiday road toll period was from 4pm on Thursday to 6am on Tuesday.
Last year, seven people died on New Zealand roads during the same period.
