A person who died after a crash in Matamata on the weekend was Martje Gezina Eastment, 79, of Putaruru.

Emergency Services were called to the two-vehicle crash on the corner of Pohlen Rd and Waharoa Rd East in Matamata on Saturday about 5.25pm.

A witness, who asked not to be named, was driving home when her partner called her to tell her about the crash.

“[I was] only a minute in front of him so spun around,” said the woman, who is a nurse.

“The sole occupant [of one of the cars] was passed away by the time I got there and checked for a pulse,” she said.

A survivor was flown to hospital by helicopter while another was driven by ambulance.

Police confirmed one person had died and two others were critically injured.

The Serious Crash Unit attended and the crash is being investigated.