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A teenager has died after his car left the road and hit a tree while he was driving to work in the Far North.

The single-vehicle crash occurred on Wehirua Road, near Ōkaihau, just after 8.30am on Monday.

The 18-year-old driver, the car’s sole occupant, was critically injured and died at the scene.

Police, volunteer firefighters from Kaikohe and Ōkaihau, St John Ambulance and the police Serious Crash Unit responded.

A section of Wehirua Road was closed for several hours, with traffic diverted via Waiare Road, but has since re-opened.

An investigation into the cause of the crash is continuing.

The young man’s death is the 17th on Northland roads so far this year, significantly higher than the nine fatalities recorded across the region at the same time last year.