KEY POINTS:
Five people have been killed on New Zealand roads today, in a bleak start to the weekend.
In the most recent crash two people were killed and another critically injured in a collision at 9.35am on State Highway 73 at Kirwee, 37km west of Christchurch.
Inspector Warren Kemp from the police southern communications centre said the critically injured person had been flown to hospital and another person with moderate injuries taken by road.
Two had died and others were being cut from vehicles.
Earlier, three people died in two separate road accidents overnight - one near Rotorua and one near Dargaville.
In the first accident a woman passenger was killed when a car rolled and she was thrown clear near Dargaville shortly after 1am today.
Inspector Willie Taylor from the police Northern Communications Centre in Auckland, said the woman died at the scene. He said no other vehicle was involved and it rolled on a straight section of road.
Nearly 90 minutes later two people died when a car hit a power pole on State Highway 5 at Ohaaki near Rotorua.
Police said a BMW car heading south failed to negotiate a moderate bend and slid into the pole.
The front seat passenger, 25, and a passenger, 17, sitting in the left rear seat were killed.
The driver, 22, was not hurt and another rear seat passenger received minor injuries.
The names of the three victims would be released after relatives had been told, said police.
- NZPA
