It’s been a tragic start to 2023 on Northland’s roads with two people dying when a car hit a tree in Ahipara.

Police said two people died and another person is in critical condition following a crash in Ahipara in the Far North.

A single vehicle hit a tree on Kaitaia-Awaroa Road shortly before midnight on Tuesday.

Two occupants died at the scene and the third was taken to hospital.

Police said the circumstances of the crash remain under investigation.

The deaths come after Northland recorded its highest number of road deaths in 2022, when 38 people died on the region’s roads.

There were 33 road deaths in Northland in 2021.