Truck driver in fatal Kaimai plunge named

Police have named the man who died when his truck plunged down a steep slope on the Kaimai Ranges last night.

Acting sub-area manager for Matamata-Piako Sergeant Neil Faulkner said the driver was Athol Ian Bree, 61, of Te Awamutu.

Mr Bree died at the scene of the 6.25pm crash, which happened about 1km from the summit on State Highway 29.

One lane of the road will remain closed until about 4pm as crash investigators and salvage crews survey the scene and try to recover the truck and trailer unit.

"Traffic on this busy stretch of road has been reduced from three lanes down to one causing some delay,'' police said.

"A heavy recovery vehicle is currently in place and work is continuing on trying to recover the tractor and trailer unit while crash investigators continue to map out the scene.''

District Road Policing Manager, Inspector Leo Tooman, said a member of the public flagged down a Bay of Plenty Police officer near the summit of the Kaimais, to report a large amount of sand spilt over the road.