Four people are dead following crashes on the road this holiday period - less than two days since the official holiday toll began. Pourerere Rd is closed near the intersection of Clareinch Road while the Serious Crash Unit examines the scene. The driver died at the scene and a passenger was transported to hospital by helicopter. Four people have now died on the road this Christmas holiday road toll period, which began at 4pm on Friday and ends at 6am on January 3. Taxi driver Abdul Raheem Fahad Syed (29), who was killed in Auckland early yesterday, was the first to die within the road toll period, and another person died in a crash in Northland about 5.45pm yesterday.

Source: Otago Daily Times December 23, 2017 18:11 UTC