An elderly Huntly man is the second person to have died in a road crash in the Huntly area since last night.
The 77-year-old man died in Waikato Hospital this morning after being hit by a 4x4 vehicle as he was walking along SH1 north of the Huntly township just before 6am today. His name will not be released until family have been notified.
Last night around 6pm, the male passenger in a car died after it collided with an oncoming car on Rotowaro Rd on the outskirts of Huntly. The dead man's name has not yet been released. The driver of the car he was in ran from the scene and was later found in a Huntly house three hours later. Police believe alcohol was involved in the crash.
This morning's crash occurred about 3km north of the Huntly township. Senior Sergeant Pete Simpson said a white Ford Telstar station wagon was heading south when it failed to take a moderate left corner and ended up on the wrong side of the road. The Telstar clipped an oncoming north-bound vehicle, lost control, continued for another 100m and then hit an oncoming Toyota Prado. The Prado flipped and hit the pedestrian, who was walking his dog along the footpath. The dog was killed instantly.
The man was taken to Waikato Hospital in critical condition, but died some hours later.
SH1 will remain closed for several hours while police examine the crash scene. North-bound traffic is being diverted onto Fletcher St and Hakanoa St to East Mine Rd. South-bound traffic is taking the reverse route.
Three other people from the other cars involved suffered minor to moderate injuries.
Police are investigating both crashes and are keen to speak to any witnesses to this morning's crash who may have seen the white Telstar driving erratically on SH1 early this morning. Anyone with information should contact Huntly police on 07 8287560.