Deadliest King's Birthday weekend in six years after motorcyclist killed

A motorcyclist has died following a crash on the West Coast this afternoon, raising the preliminary road toll for the King's Birthday holiday weekend to five — the highest since 2019.

Emergency services responded to a single-vehicle crash on State Highway 6, near the Waitaha River Bridge, involving a motorcycle at around 5.15pm today.

"The road is expected to remain closed for some time and motorists are asked to take alternative routes where possible, or consider delaying travel," police said.

Inquiries into the circumstances of the crash are underway.

The death brings the preliminary road toll for the King's Birthday holiday weekend to five.

A woman died in hospital on Saturday after a single-vehicle crash in Port Waikato on Friday night.

Two others were seriously and moderately injured.

A two-vehicle crash in Northland near Waiomio, south of Kawakawa, killed one person just after midnight on Saturday.

A man died in Waipa, Waikato, after the vehicle he was in left the road and rolled into a paddock on Saturday morning at around 7.40am.

One person died and four were injured on Auckland's Northwestern Motorway early on Sunday morning when a car rolled several times.

Two people were seriously injured, with two others in a moderate and minor condition respectively.

The official King's Birthday holiday road toll period is from 4pm on Friday to 6am on Tuesday.

Last year, three people died on New Zealand roads during the same period.