Holiday road toll: Waikato crash victim was Eli Boyd Wallace

The serious crash closed SH25 south of Keretā at the time. Image / Google Maps
The serious crash closed SH25 south of Keretā at the time. Image / Google Maps

Police have named the person who died in a crash on State Highway 25 on the Coromandel Peninsula, in the Waikato region.

He was 32-year-old Eli Boyd Wallace, from Auckland.

Wallace died at the scene of the crash on State Highway 25, south of Kereta, on January 2.

Police were called to the incident just before 3.30am after reports that a car had hit a power pole and crashed into the water near Russek Rd.

“Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones,” a police spokesperson said.

Four days after the death of Wallace, inquiries into the circumstances of the crash are ongoing.

SH25 remained closed for seven hours after the incident while the police Serious Crash Unit investigated.

At the time of the incident, police called for anyone who witnessed the crash or had any information to contact them.

Twenty people died on our roads over the Christmas-New Year holiday period, which officially ended on January 3.

The majority of the fatalities were in Waikato, where seven people were killed, including Wallace.

The number of people killed this holiday period is down from last year when 21 people died during that same period.

The official Christmas-New Year holiday road toll period started at 4pm on December 22 and finished January 3 at 6am.

The majority of the victims were male (13) and six female.

Can you help? Anyone who witnessed the crash or has information that may help authorities is urged to call Police on 105.