Two people are fighting for their lives and another was also seriously injured in crash at a highways blackspot between Napier and Hawke's Bay Airport last night.
The crash happened just after 9.15pm when a car travelling north on the Hawke's Bay Expressway turned to the right to Meeanee Quay (State Highway) 2, into the path of a southbound truck.
The male driver, thought to be aged 20 and a resident of Napier, was rushed to hospital with his two female passengers. The two in the front seats were cut from the wrecked Nissan Primera.
The driver of the truck, fully laden with offal on a trip from Te Kuiti to Hawke's Bay, was not injured, but was in shock, police said.
Eastern Police District acting road policing manager Senior Sergeant Greg Brown said late this morning police were still trying to confirm identities of those in the car.