A motorcyclist has died after crashing into a fence on State Highway 50, through Central Hawke’s Bay, the latest in a horror long weekend on Hawke’s Bay and Tararua roads.

Earlier two died in separate crashes 18 hours apart within a kilometre on State Highway 2 in Dannevirke on Friday and Saturday.

And another three people were taken to hospital with injuries from crashes on Sunday and Monday.

Police, firefighters and Hato Hone St John staff were on Monday afternoon about 2.15pm to a report of a motorcyclist hitting a fence north of the Ashcott Rd intersection with State Highway 50.

The highway had been closed between Ashcott Rd and Bridge St, Ongaonga, with diversions in place. Motorists were advised to delay travel.

Earlier, two people were taken to Hawke’s Bay Hospital by ambulance after being injured in a crash in Taradale.

Police, firefighters and Hato Hone St John were called to the corner of King St and Meeanee Rd about 6.25pm on Sunday.

The road was blocked and police asked people to avoid the area, with firefighters required to free a trapped occupant in the vehicle.

A St John spokesperson said they assessed and treated two people, one in a serious condition and the other in a moderate condition, and took both by ambulance to Hawke’s Bay Hospital.

About two hours earlier a rescue helicopter from Gisborne was called to the scene of a single-vehicle crash on State Highway 5, the Napier-Taupō Rd.

A police spokesman said the vehicle had hit a fence near Te Haroto about 4.20pm and an unrestrained passenger in the back seat had been thrown into the front seat of the car as a result of the impact.

They were taken by helicopter to hospital for assessment, he said. The highway was closed for close to half an hour to allow the helicopter to land and reopened by 6pm.

The tragic 18 hours on State Highway 2 in and near Dannevirke occurred in clear conditions.

The first was about 4.20pm on Friday when a vehicle left a State Highway bend near Wahipai Reserve, just north of Dannevirke, and crashed down a small bank into trees and bush. One occupant died, police said.

The second happened about 9.30am on Saturday when a vehicle and a moped collided a few hundred metres to the south of a High St stretch of SH2 between the Hospital St and the Dannevirke showgrounds, where the town’s annual A&P Show was in progress.

Police said a person who had been riding the moped was injured and airlifted to hospital, but had died.

No further updates were available about the Tararua’s fatal crashes on Monday, with police not in a position to release details about either of the deceased.