26 Dec 2017

Holiday road toll rises after two killed in Canterbury crash

11:15 am on 26 December 2017

The Christmas and New Year holiday period road toll has risen to seven after a fatal crash in Canterbury.

The official toll began on December the 22nd, and runs until January the third.

No fatal car crashes were reported on Christmas Day or overnight.

But two people were killed in a crash on the Waimate Highway near Glenavy today.

Police said the crash happened between Carrolls Road and Stangers Road just after 8.30am.

Diversions are in place, northbound traffic should use Old Ferry Road and southbound drivers are being diverted along Glenavy Tawai Road.

St John confirmed two people died at the scene.

Abdul Raheem Fahad Syed, 29, who was hit by a man accused of driving while drunk, and running a red light in Auckland Central, was the first fatality to be counted.

The scene of the crash on Symonds Street.

The scene of the crash on Symonds Street. Photo: www.snpa.co.nz

A 20-year-old has been charged for the crash and will appear in court before the New Year.

Over the weekend, three additional people were killed in single car crashes.

64-year-old Fijian National Lalita Devi was killed in a single-car crash in Northland on Saturday.

On Sunday, one person died and another was seriously injured after hitting a tree in Hanmer Springs.

Later that day one person was killed after a van rolled down a bank in Central Hawke's Bay.

A fifth person died and another three were seriously injured, after a three-car collision on State Highway Five near Rotorua on Christmas Eve.

One person also died from a motorcycle crash in Buller, however this is not counted under the official road toll, as it was on a private property.

Nineteen people died on New Zealand's roads over the Christmas holiday period last year, the highest holiday road toll in four years.

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