Boy on life support after school-morning smash

Picture / Greg Bowker

An 8-year-old boy was on life support in the Starship hospital last night after these cars collided while taking children to school.

The boy and his 41-year-old mother were among 10 adults and children injured in the head-on accident in Papakura at 8.10am.

The mother and three others were in a serious but stable condition last night. Five more people were discharged after treatment at Middlemore Hospital.

The mother was taking two children to Cosgrove School when their Mitsubishi V3000 and a Honda Odyssey collided.

The Honda was carrying two adults and five children, aged 6 to 14. The accident, in a 70km/h zone on Hingaia Rd, which passes over Auckland's Southern Motorway at the Papakura interchange, closed the road for nearly two hours.

Sergeant Emiel Logan said the children in the Honda were on their way to Strathallan School near Karaka.

He said the occupants suffered injuries ranging from moderate to serious. The people in the Honda appeared to be car-pooling as they were from two families.