Tourist dies in Twizel crash

The woman who died when a van she was in rolled in rural South Canterbury was 62-year-old Ying Han, of Shanghai, China.

Han was travelling in the van along Mount Cook Rd, north of Twizel, when it crashed about 2.10pm on Saturday.

Another person was taken to hospital with serious injuries. It is unclear how many people were in the van at the time of the crash.

Police yesterday confirmed Han was killed.

She was one of four people killed on New Zealand roads in the space of 24 hours.

A man died in a single-car crash on the Christchurch Southern Motorway about 9pm on Friday, and a woman died when she crashed off a bank on Bossu Rd, Banks Peninsula, about 12pm on Saturday.

Tarandeep Deol, of Tauranga, 31, was killed when his car crashed on Te Puna Rd early on Saturday. Another person was seriously injured in the crash.

Two people were seriously injured yesterday in separate road accidents.

A woman was injured after her car flipped on State Highway

1 just south of the Moeraki turnoff.

A St John spokesman said the driver, who was the only person in the car, was taken to Dunedin Hospital following the crash yesterday morning. She was in a moderate to serious condition, the spokesman said.

In Auckland yesterday, a

35-year-old man was taken to hospital with serious injuries after colliding with a truck while riding an e-scooter. The incident happened on Parnell Rd.

On the Kapiti Coast, a person was critically injured after a car struck a moped. Police said the crash happened on Mill Rd, Otaki, at 12.05pm on Saturday. A St John spokeswoman said a person was flown to Wellington Hospital in a critical condition.

Police confirmed the moped rider was the person critically injured.

Police are calling it a ‘‘truly horrific start to the holiday season’’.

Road policing national manager Superintendent Steve Greally said police were extremely saddened by the deaths.

‘‘We cannot imagine how this will impact the families of those involved at what is supposed to be a happy time of year,’’ Greally said. ‘‘Our hearts go out to them. The last thing police want to do is turn up on a loved one’s doorstep in the days before Christmas and tell them someone is dead.’’

‘‘We need to get the message through,’’ Greally said. ‘‘When you’re driving, you need to take on board the responsibility that goes with that.’’

Drivers needed to be fully alert, and not driving drunk, drugged or fatigued. Everyone needed to wear a seatbelt, he said.

With bad weather forecast for a number of regions and with more cars on the road, Greally said people needed to drive to the conditions.