Frantic bid to save crash victims

The body of one of those killed in a crash on State Highway II is carried off from the scene of the wreckage. Picture / Amos Chapple

Motorists tried desperately to extinguish flames engulfing a car after a head-on crash at Kerepehi on the Hauraki Plains yesterday.

The car was travelling north when the collision occurred about 2pm, killing the driver and passenger.

The driver of the second car was flown to Waikato Hospital in a serious condition.

Crash analyst Sergeant Greg Waters said the second car had crossed the centre line, hitting the vehicle of the victims, which spun out of control and burst into flames.

It was understood other drivers tried to put out the fire but it was too intense. Mr Waters said the occupants probably died before it started.

The crash happened while police were dealing with another double fatality at Putaruru.

About 12.30 yesterday afternoon, two people were killed when the cars they were in collided head-on in the 50km/h area entering Putaruru from the north on State Highway 1.

The Lion Foundation rescue helicopter flew a woman in her 60s to Waikato Hospital suffering serious head, chest pelvis and leg injuries.

The passenger in the car she was driving died at the scene.

The second car's driver also died at the scene, and a male passenger was flown to Waikato Hospital by the Westpac Waikato Air Ambulance.

The identities of the people involved in the crashes were not available last night.

The two crashes take the Waikato road toll to an all-time high of 52 people killed in the past six months.

Waikato road policing manager Inspector Leo Tooman said that in just six months, the region had almost reached the total number of deaths recorded for the whole of last year (53). "It's been a bad year - a shocking year."

He said many of the deaths had been caused by cars crossing the centre line.

An 18-year-old Hamilton woman died in Waikato Hospital on Saturday after a campervan hit her car on State Highway 1 between Cambridge and Hamilton on Thursday.

The campervan driver had arrived on a flight from Britain just a few hours before and was driving with fellow Lions supporters to Christchurch.

Mr Tooman said fatigue was often a factor in many head-on crashes but it was difficult for police to quantify.

Three male Lions supporters were in the campervan. One passenger was taken to Waikato Hospital with leg injuries. The driver and other passenger had minor injuries.

The driver of the campervan is likely to face charges.