Four people were taken to hospital, one of them in critical condition, after a crash near Kerikeri.
The accident occurred on State Highway 10, next to Blue Gum Lane about 2km north of the Kerikeri crossroads, when a vehicle is thought to have crossed the centreline about 5.15pm on Friday.
The impact crushed the front of a Honda CR-V and shunted a BMW sedan into a ditch.
A woman and two young children were in one vehicle while an elderly male was the sole occupant of the other.
The woman and one child were flown to Whangarei Hospital by the Northland Electricity Rescue Helicopter.