A man is dead after the motorcycle he was riding collided with a car near Clinton yesterday.
Emergency services from Clinton and Balclutha were called to the crash about 2pm in Gorge Rd, just off State Highway 1.
The 56-year-old man was initially reported as having serious injuries but died at the scene a short time later.
The Serious Crash Unit was investigating.
Constable Andrew Denny, of Balclutha, told Fairfax the man was travelling from Mataura to Clinton on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, which collided on a 65kmh bend with a car going in the opposite direction.
The road at the intersection of State Highway 1 and SH93 was closed for about five hours.
The fatality is the 28th road death in the Southern region, which comprises Otago and Southland, this year.
Last year’s toll in the region was the worst since 2001 with 20 people dying on roads in Otago and 16 in Southland.
Police have pleaded for drivers to take more responsibility on the nation’s roads.
By November 10 there had been 323 road deaths in New Zealand this year, up from 279 for the same period in 2016.
