A 48-year-old man has died of head injuries during a horrific weekend on Rarotonga roads.

Police confirmed the cause of death on Monday after emergency services were called to the scene of a crash in Titikaveka, just after 1am on Sunday.

It was confirmed high speed played a role as the driver failed to take a bend.

He was the sole occupant in the car and no other vehicles were involved.

The location is a spot known to Police for crashes in the past.

Rarotonga’s previous road fatality, in 2022, was in the same vicinity.  

Meanwhile, the weekend did not start well, only to conclude with a tragedy which now impacts the lives of family and friends, and the community as a whole.

Police spokesman Trevor Pitt said Police have a difficult job in patrolling and monitoring the road environment to maintain safety, and this past weekend had demonstrated the high level of care and awareness required by everyone using the road around the island of Rarotonga.

The Sunday morning road fatality was in addition to three people being arrested for drunk driving.

One of those incidents involved a minor crash in town.

Police tested drivers only to record 490 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath, 860mcg/L, and 1020mcg/L, respectively.

It was confirmed on Monday that a man was arrested and charged with drink driving at 11pm on Saturday, after blowing 490 mcg. He was convicted and fined on Monday.

A female motorist blew 860 mcg following a minor collision near the Empire Theatre about 1.30am on Sunday.

The motorist who blew 1020 mcg appeared in court on Monday and was remanded in custody to reappear today as he is a known offender who faces an additional charge of contempt.       

More alarming, however, was a fourth arrest on Friday.

A motorcyclist was stopped in the middle of the day for driving dangerously with video footage of the erratic behaviour posted online.

He was tested at 1730mcg/L – a record high level of excess alcohol, according to Police.

The legal limit is 250mcg/L.

The motorcyclist was reported as an older male driver, stopped at the Mangaia hostel about 12.06pm after having been seen driving from Matavera.  

He was remanded in custody overnight on Friday.  

Two other people were forbidden from driving by Police, and another fined for not wearing a safety helmet, during the weekend.

Further arrests were also conducted by Police – one for contempt of court orders and another for threatening to kill.

Police are also investigating a serious sex offence, reported early Saturday morning.

Police did not provide further details on Monday when Cook Islands News asked. 

Pitt said he “can’t say too much”, specifically about the reported sex offence, only adding, that it “just added to a really bad weekend”.