A motorcyclist has died after colliding with an earthmoving machine in Tauranga while two other people have been seriously injured in an earlier, separate crash in Kerikeri.
Police said the fatal crash, which is being investigated by the Serious Crash Unit, happened at about 2.20am on Matapihi Road near Tauranga Airport, when a motorcyclist crashed into a digger parked on the side of the road.
The rider died instantly at the scene.
Earlier, at about 1am, two people were seriously hurt when their car crashed through a barrier and down a 50 metre bank in Kerikeri.
Fire, police and ambulance staff spent about an hour and a half stabilising the car, freeing one person who was trapped underneath it and then helping the pair to safety.
They were both flown to hospital by rescue helicopter.
