One person has died after a crash near Lake Okataina. (File photo). Photo: RNZ / Jamie Tahana
One person has died and another has been critically injured after New Year's Day crashes in Bay of Plenty, near Rotorua, and south of Whakatāne.
Police said one person died at the scene after a vehicle rolled on State Highway 30 at Okataina, east of Rotorua.
At about 2.30pm emergency services were called to the crash, between Curtis Road and Lake Okataina Road.
The two others in the vehicle received minor injuries.
The road was closed, but was expected to reopen by about 7.30pm.
Tāneatua crash
Further east in the Bay of Plenty, a woman was struck by a car and critically injured at Tāneatua, south of Whakatāne.
The crash, in Grace Road, was reported to police at 12.15pm on 1 January.
The woman was airlifted to hospital.
A section of Grace Road was closed while police examine the scene.
Man who died in Whakamaru crash named
Police on Monday released the name of the man who died in a crash at Whakamaru, south of Tokoroa, on 23 December.
Auckland resident Wenxuan Li, aged 22, was killed on State Highway 32 - Whakamaru Road.
Police said enquiries were continuing into what happened.
The Automobile Association's provisional road toll figures for 2023 were released earlier in the day, showing at least 343 people died on the roads in 2023.
By 1 January, the 2023-2024 summer holiday road toll stood at 15 deaths.
The official 2023 Christmas New Year holiday period began at 4pm on 22 December and ends at 6am on 3 January 2024. In the 2022-2023 summer holiday period 21 people died on the roads.