One dead, one critical, after State Highway 1 crash north of Wellington

One person has died following a crash that caused major delays on State Highway 1 north of Wellington.

Two vehicles were involved in the crash near Johnsonville, about 4:40pm on Friday, between the Tawa-Grenada North on-ramp and the Churton Park-Glenside off-ramp.

Police on Saturday morning said one person had died following the collision, while a second person had critical injuries.

Drivers reported people stuck in the traffic near the scene walking down the motorway on Friday night to seek warmth at nearby businesses, after hours of sitting in vehicles on the highway as emergency services worked at the scene of the crash.

The road opened about 11pm on Friday.