Grim toll: Five dead in horrific weekend of road crashes
Five people have died and others have been injured in crashes on roads so far this weekend.
The fatalities take the national road toll to 159 — well ahead of 146 at the same time last year.
A cyclist was killed in a collision with a vehicle on Washdyke Flat Rd, Timaru, about 2.30pm on Saturday.
This incident follows four crashes in the North Island, the most recent of which claimed a life in Puwera, south of Whangārei, early yesterday.
The two-vehicle collision occurred on State Highway 1 at about 3am.
The sole occupant of one car died at the scene.
There were eight people in the other vehicle, five of whom received serious to moderate injuries, and were taken to hospital by ambulance.
Three other occupants had minor injuries and were taken to hospital for medical assessment.
The Northland crash came after a shocking Saturday afternoon of fatalities in Auckland and Waikato.
One person died after a two-car collision in Karaka, South Auckland, on Saturday night.
Police were called to the crash on Karaka Rd, near Whangapouri and Blackbridge Rds, about 6.15pm. One person died at the scene. Shortly beforehand, about 6pm, a person died in a two-vehicle collision in Māgere East, at the intersection of Massey and Bucklands Rds.
A member of the public at the scene told the Herald that one car was on its roof on Massey Rd and the other car was in the middle of the intersection.
About an hour and a half earlier, a person died after a two-vehicle collision on Mangatawhiri Rd, near SH2 in the Waikato.
Another person, a female, was injured and taken in a moderate condition to Middlemore Hospital.
Intensive care paramedic Chris Deacon described the scene when they arrived.
“It appears that it was a head-on collision on an open road,” he said.
“One vehicle had left the road and was upturned. Its occupant unfortunately died despite emergency services attempts to save them.”
Deacon said a local fire crew did an excellent job trying to revive the occupants but were unsuccessful.