Three dead after crash on Desert Rd
Three people died and a driver was left critically injured after a horror smash on an icy Desert Road in the central North Island.
Police say the trio died at the scene after a car crossed the centre line and collided with a truck in icy conditions just before 7.30am on Monday morning.
The three people killed are: Twinkle Ansal, a 21-year-old male Indian national, Monalisa Alofaifo, a 20-year-old Samoan woman with New Zealand residency and Arshpreet Kaur Sidhu, 23, an Indian national in New Zealand on a working visa.
A 21-year-old man is in Waikato Hospital.
Sidhu’s sister, Joban Sidhu posted a tribute on Facebook, saying she was a ‘‘great sister and an amazing friend.’’
She was trying to arrange for her sister’s body to be sent back to her native village in India and had been in touch with the Indian High Commission.
Taupo police Senior Sergeant Fane Troy said a car heading north crossed the centreline into the path of an southbound truck. oncoming
Three passengers inside the car died at the scene, Troy said.
The driver - a man in his 20s was flown to Waikato Hospital in a critical condition, a spokesperson for Taupo’s Greenlea Rescue helicopter said.
‘‘The roads were very icy when we arrived. It began to snow just as we took off for Waikato,’’ he said.
Fane said the truck driver was shaken but uninjured.
‘‘Conditions are treacherous with patches of ice on the road. When emergency services arrived on the scene it was very cold with snowing falling.
‘‘The Desert Road is notorious for changing conditions and drivers should take extreme caution in the area. You can have good weather on one side of the hill and ice and snow on the other side.’’
A witness at the scene, who asked not to be named, said it looked like the car had skidded in icy conditions, crashing backwards into the truck.
Northern Fire Communications shift manager Megan Ruru said brigades from Turangi and Waiouru attended the scene.