Baby survives North Canterbury double-fatal crash

A baby survived a horror head-on crash in North Canterbury in which both drivers were killed.

Emergency services were called to the crash on Ashworths Rd, Leithfield that was reported about 5.10pm on Sunday. Two people were killed, and two others were transported to hospital, police said.

The Herald understands a baby survived the crash. It’s understood the two people who died were the drivers of each car - a man and a woman.

Senior Sergeant Stephen McDaniel told the Herald the cause of the crash was yet to be determined, and said police would not be commenting on the identities of those who died at this stage while formal identification was ongoing.

He said motorists needed to “drive to the conditions and be aware of your capabilities and tiredness.

“When it comes to road safety it’s all about people driving to the conditions. It’s about fatigue, it’s about pulling over and stopping. The number of causes of accidents, a lot of it is fatigue or it is a distraction and speed as well.”

McDaniel said a lot of people were going to be affected by the crash.

“It’s tragic for everyone to deal with.”

An investigation into the cause of the crash is underway.

It comes after two people died and a third was moderately injured in a crash on the same stretch of road earlier this month.

Emergency services responded to a pile-up on Main North Rd/State Highway 1, near Sefton, shortly after 10am on January 8.

McDaniel earlier confirmed the earlier double-fatal collision was between two cars.

“It appears that one vehicle left the side of the road and collided with another coming from the opposite direction.

“We do not know the cause, but we know that one vehicle has crossed the centre line, hitting the other. We are still ascertaining the cause of the collision,” McDaniel said the day after the crash.

Images from the crash scene showed debris from a flipped silver Hilux ute strewn across the road and a host of emergency workers at the crash site. A silver Corolla was off the road, in bushes, and had been covered with a sheet.

Sam Sherwood is a Christchurch-based reporter who covers crime. He is a senior journalist who joined the Herald in 2022, and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.