Man dies following crash

A man is dead after driving off the road and over an embankment in the rural town of Kingseat about 45km south of Auckland’s CBD.

Emergency crews were called to the scene at 11.30am Tuesday on Linwood Rd but the man was deceased when they arrived, St John said. Inquiries were ongoing as to what caused the crash but a Fire Service spokesman said early indications were that it was related to a medical condition.

The Police Serious Crash Unit was investigating. There was only one car involved and only one occupant in the car, a police spokeswoman said.

One lane of Linwood Rd was closed and traffic was delayed for some time. It followed a number of other crashes causing traffic headaches on the first day back from Labour Weekend. A crash at Henderson in West Auckland at 9.30am Tuesday left five people in hospital, including two seriously injured. The two-car smash forced part of Forest Hill Rd to close temporarily as St John arrived to treat five patients. Fire Service said one person was trapped and had to be freed. There were multiple minor crashes on the southwestern motorway and southern motorway early Tuesday that caused temporary blockages for commuters.

The Labour Weekend holiday road toll has finished at three, two less than the same period in 2015.