File photo Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
A person is dead after a motorcycle crash north of Hamilton, and one has died after a car crashed into the water, closing a busy Coromandel Peninsula coastal highway.
Emergency services were working at the scene of a motorcycle crash at Tauhei, north of Hamilton, on Tuesday afternoon.
Witnesses saw a rider come off a bike while rounding a corner on Tainui Road, police said.
People at the scene called 111 for help about 2.10pm, and the rider was treated by first responders but died at the scene.
The road was closed as police investigate.
Coromandel Peninsula crash
Emergency services were called about 3.25am on 2 January, after the car hit a power pole and crashed into the water in a single-car crash near Russek Road, police said.
State Highway 25 was closed near Kereta, south of the town of Coromandel, with no detours available. Anyone needing to travel to or from Coromandel town was warned need to go through Whitianga on the eastern side of the peninsula.
The highway had reopened by early afternoon, the Transport Agency's website said.
Anyone who saw the crash or may have seen the driver before the crash was asked to call Police on 105, or to visit their report page online at 105.police.govt.nz and quote file number P057287229.
The Serious Crash Unit is investigating.
Police warning
About a third of the fatal crashes on the roads so far during the Christmas New Year holiday period have been in the Waikato region.
And police say they have received a glut of complaints about drivers in Waikato travelling well above the posted speed limit.
There had been eight fatal crashes in the Waikato region during the holiday toll period, from a total of 18 deaths nationally. The official toll period ends at 6am on Wednesday.
Senior Sergeant Mark Pettigrew said there would be heavy traffic congestion in Waikato as holidaymakers returned home, so drivers needed to allow extra time and be patient.