Police have thanked members of the public who performed CPR on a motorist who was struck by a vehicle after running from his crashed SUV on the Waikato Expressway.

The man died following the midday crash near Hampton Downs on Friday, before which he was seen speeding past other vehicles between the left-hand lane and the “cheese-cutter” barrier.

“A car was travelling north when it is believed to have rear-ended a northbound truck,” police said on Friday.

“One of the occupants of the car exited the vehicle and was struck by another vehicle travelling in the southbound lane. Despite the best efforts of emergency services, the person died at the scene.”

Northwestern Waikato road policing manager Sergeant Steven Jones tonight said police are appealing for witnesses to the SH1 crash.

“Police would like to hear from anyone who saw the black SUV driving north from Huntly towards Hampton Downs prior to the crash.

“Anyone with information – especially dash camera footage – could provide valuable assistance to the crash investigation,” Jones said.

Anyone who witnessed the black SUV prior to the crash or who has information that could assist the police investigation is asked to get in contact by calling 105 or online at https://www.police.govt.nz/use-105 using “Update Report” and referencing file number 240614/996.

Information can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

Jones also thanked members of the public who “initially witnessed and rendered assistance” to those involved in the crash, including performing CPR on the road in pouring rain before first responders arrived.

Dylan Harris was among several motorists stunned by the incident, which culminated in police closing lanes in both directions on the busy motorway.

“I was heading north and had just gone past Ōhinewai, and out of nowhere this car comes up the inside”, Harris told the Herald.

“I’m in a truck and trailer – it’s 23.5m long – and there’s no one in the right-hand lane, there’s actually no cars for ages. And he just comes flying up the left-hand side.

“I’m going 90km/h and he passed me like I was standing still… his speed was incredible.

“By the time I was gathering my thoughts he was already 100m up the road doing the same thing to another car and truck.”

The Serious Crash Unit completed a scene examination which saw both directions of the road closed closed until 5.40pm.

Other motorists described similar experiences, and the heartbreaking end.

A woman travelling north was passed, also between the left lane and the “cheese-cutter” barrier, by a black SUV being driven at speeds of “well over 120km/h”, she said.

“He was just screaming past everybody. He’d created a third lane [on the two-lane expressway] and was overtaking people. All the stones were flying up on our cars.”

The vehicle then went out of her sight, but as she approached the overbridge just south of Hampton Downs, she saw the man had crashed, the woman said.

“He crashed his car, how I don’t know… then I saw him run across to the other side, [from] the northbound lanes into the southbound lanes. I didn’t see the impact, because I was driving… but I saw him face down on the road.”

She and half a dozen others stopped to help, with the woman putting a blanket over the man – aged in his 20s or 30s and clothed, but with only socks on his feet – before another woman started CPR.

The woman was then joined by a man who “seemed to know what he was doing”, as others tried to shelter them from the rain using umbrellas.

“We were all standing around trying to keep the rain off him. We did what we could… it wasn’t very nice… it’s not what you want to see on a Friday afternoon.

“It’s crazy.”

One motorist described heartbreaking scenes as a first responder on his knees gave CPR to the injured man in the pouring rain in the middle of the southbound lanes of the expressway.

The woman driving north towards Pōkeno told the Herald she saw a smashed up black SUV in the northbound lanes and an injured man being attended to by first responders.

“[I could see] police and emergency services trying to save him. The rain was coming down hard and they were huddled under umbrellas.

“He was in the middle of the motorway, lying there lifeless. There were six to eight police and a person doing CPR in a yellow coat – he was over the man trying to save him with people all around.

“There were one or two police cars on site already, and traffic was already at a standstill. There was debris all over the northbound lane.”