A 17-year-old Heriot youth has died after a crash in West Otago, and police say speed and alcohol were contributing factors.
He was one of five people killed on New Zealand roads at the weekend.
Sergeant Ross MacRae, of Gore, said the youth, who had lived in Dunedin, was the sole occupant of a Toyota Hiace van, being driven north on Roxburgh St, Heriot, north of Tapanui, on Saturday night.
The van had left the road, slid along a bank and come to rest with the front of the vehicle submerged in a stream.
The youth died at the scene.
Speed and alcohol were contributing factors in the crash.
‘‘This is a tragic example of what happens when an inexperienced driver drinks and gets behind the wheel," Sgt MacRae said.
The man's name had not been released yesterday evening.
Two people were killed in a two-car crash on State Highway 29 at Karapiro, southeast of Hamilton, about 4pm yesterday, with four others who were taken to Waikato Hospital in a stable condition.
A 14-year-old boy and 20--woman died when an overloaded Ford Telstar they were passengers in rolled on Foxton Beach Rd, about 20km north of Levin, shortly before 5am yesterday. - NZPA
