Serious crash investigators will try to establish what happened at a rowdy party in Oropi near Tauranga last night.

A teenage driver is dead, while another person was hurt after being hit by another car.

Around 150 people were at the party when police were called.

The police tried to stop a car that had been at the party after they saw it had no tail lights, but the driver accelerated and went over a bank.

When police went to help they found he'd been thrown out. The occupant died on the way to hospital.

Another party-goer was struck by a vehicle after an altercation involving around a dozen gatecrashers. They escaped serious injuries.