South Wairarapa Police and other emergency services were kept busy this morning with three road crashes -- one of which was fatal -- in the area.
Sergeant Ben Offner, Featherston Police, says the crashes happened between 10am and 11.30am and most involved local rural people.
The first crash, a minor injury one, involved two cars at Lake View Reserve at the base of the Rimutaka Hill Road.
The second crash involved two vehicles at the intersection of No. 1 Line and SH53, South Featherston, in which seven people were hurt.
Three men in their 20s are in Wellington Hospital with serious injuries -- one was flown and the other two taken by road. Four other people are in Masterton Hospital with minor injuries.
And a man died when his car failed to negotiate a bridge at Lake Ferry. The car went into the water and the driver, in his 20s, died while being taken to Masterton Hospital.
Sergeant Offner said police are still investigating the circumstances of each of the crashes. The name of the man who died has not been released as police are still trying to contact next of kin.
"South Wairarapa has a terrible record of fatal and serious crashes," says Sergeant Offner. "Worst of all it’s mainly local rural people travelling on rural roads.
"People must take the safety messages on board and be careful when they’re driving on the open roads."