Speed appears to have been a factor in a fatal crash which saw a car mount a curb and hit a wall and a sign.

The serious crash unit is currently investigating the crash which killed one person on Hall Street in Hamilton at around 11.30pm last night.

Police are investigating a fatal crash.

Early indications are that the Honda, travelling in an easterly direction, left the road and hit the curb before crashing into a small wall and finally coming to a rest after colliding with a large sign.

'It has been a terrible two days,” says District road policing manager, Inspector Freda Grace, 'with a serious crash in Te Awamutu on Wednesday afternoon which has left the rider of the motorcycle dead, and now this second crash last night where another person has lost their life.

'These are tragedies that have long-term effects for the community and the families of all those involved.”

Early indications are that speed may have been a factor.

Freda says enquiries are continuing into what has caused the 25-year-old man, who was not wearing his seatbelt, to leave what is a fairly straight piece of road that is well lit and was dry and clear last night.

'Road safety is no accident,” adds Freda, 'but it will take a change from all of us to ensure that we respect the rules that are designed to keep us safe.

'If we treat the road as social space and care about that for our communities, we can prevent tragedies such as these from occurring.”