A man has died in hospital following an earlier crash near Auckland Airport this morning, where a car became submerged in a body of water.
The death marks the ninth person killed in road crashe s in New Zealand today.
Five people died after crashing into a tree near Taupō. Just hours later, three people died in a separate crash near Ashburton.
Police were called about 1.15am today to a report of a crash the intersection of Tom Pearce Drive and Puhinui Road, near Auckland Airport.
Emergency service personnel pulled the man, who was in a critical condition at the time, out of the car after the it ploughed into a nearby lake.
Emergency responders performed CPR at the scene before the man was taken to Middlemore Hospital. He later died.
One of the accidents, hear Taupō, saw five members of the same family die after their car hit a tree.
A witness nearby said tyres could be heard screeching before the crash.
"I thought nothing of it 'till I heard all the sirens," the witness, who did not want to be named, said. "I came for a look and saw the vehicle in the water, upside down. All the services were here fast."
A police officer at the scene would not comment on the cause of the crash.
"Police would like to acknowledge the members of the public who were first on the scene and put aside their personal safety to try and assist the man," police said in a statement.
The Counties Manukau Serious Crash unit attended and an investigation is underway.
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