Death-wish driving kills boy and injures two

At least five drivers had to swerve to avoid head-on collisions with a car being driven at up to 180km/h shortly before it ploughed into a vehicle in Tokoroa on Saturday, killing a young boy and seriously injuring his father and another man.

Liam Cooper, 8, died in the crash, which happened near a crowded sportsground in the centre of the town.

His father, Mark Cooper, remained in critical condition in Waikato Hospital's intensive care unit last night.

A friend of the 35-year-old said he was unconscious and had undergone surgery for severe burns to his back, suffered when the car in which he was a passenger was pushed off the road. It hit a power transformer and caught fire.

Mr Cooper and the friend driving him, Rowan Pringle, were pulled from the burning wreck.

Mr Pringle suffered a suspected dislocated pelvis and lost feeling in his legs in the hours after the crash.

His father, Michael, said the 30-year-old had regained partial feeling in his toes yesterday, much to his family's relief.

"We're optimistic he's going to come right."

Mr Pringle snr said he had been upset to learn the speed and manner in which the car that caused the crash was driven. "It wasn't really an accident. It was deliberate."

The 24-year-old driver of the speeding vehicle, Pehi Rangi, was last night in a stable condition in Waikato Hospital, awaiting transfer to a mental health unit.

Police said a psychiatric assessment would be made before charges were laid.

Constable David Hill of Tokoroa said several motorists on State Highway 1 south of the town had called about dangerous overtaking by the speeding car - which had the licence plate "Hlspwn" - shortly before the crash.

"We had five reports of vehicles having to take evasive action to avoid collisions."

He could not confirm reports that the driver made no attempt to brake before the collision, but said that considering his prior actions, it was possible the crash was deliberate.

Mr Hill said Tokoroa had been hard hit by the horrific smash, which was seen by a large number of people, including children, at the sportsground.

He said Mr Cooper was a well-respected member of the community, coaching several soccer teams at Tokoroa Association Football Club.

He and Liam were on their way to watch the club's senior men's team play in Matamata when the crash happened.

His wife and two younger children were waiting for them at the game.

Richard Garner, a player in the senior men's team, said Mr Cooper had been in Tokoroa only about a year but had impressed everyone with his dedication to coaching and the community.

Liam shared his love of soccer and had shown considerable prowess on the field, playing two grades above his age in an under-11s team.

State Highway 1 through Tokoroa was closed for five hours after the crash.

* Three other people died on the roads at the weekend.

A 19-year-old man died on Saturday night after the car he was driving hit bush near Oamaru.

Police said he was heading north on State Highway 1 "at speed" when he lost control of the car and skidded off the road.

About 3pm on Saturday, an 87-year-old man died after the car he was driving was in a collision near State Highway 2 south of Hastings.

The man was heading to an intersection with the highway when he turned into the path of a southbound car, said Senior Sergeant Greg Brown.

A woman pedestrian was killed early on Saturday when she was hit by a car on State Highway 3, north of Stratford.

Sandra Faye Bolstad, 47, of Stratford, had been walking on the highway about 3.30am. Police said she was wearing dark clothing.

Ambulance staff treated the driver for shock.