Grief-stricken family bringing boy home

A grieving family were yesterday arranging to have the body of their 10-year-old son returned after a crash in the Waikato on Sunday killed him and his infant niece.

Tyrone Joseph James-Leaf, from Mangere, was killed when the car in which he was travelling was involved in a collision with a northbound van on State Highway 1 near Piarere.

Tyrone's niece, 17-month-old Nevaeh Rautu, was also critically injured and died overnight after being airlifted to Waikato Hospital.

Three others, who are thought to include the drivers of both vehicles, were taken to Waikato Hospital.

A Waikato police serious crash unit official said the accident happened at the end of a passing lane about 14km northwest of Tirau where three lanes merge into two.

Sergeant Graham McGurk, of Matamata police, said the boy was wearing a safety belt and the toddler was in a child restraint at the time of the accident.

"There's no issue there at all, this is just a very, very sad accident ... we had ambulance staff who were quite distressed at what they saw, it's all very upsetting."

A woman, understood to be Tyrone's grandmother and great-grandmother to Nevaeh, told the Herald Tyrone's parents were yesterday at Waikato Hospital making arrangements to have his body returned to them.

She said Tyrone and the whanau had been on their way to Taupo when the accident happened.

Tyrone went to a primary school in Mangere Bridge and was "a lovely and beautiful boy".

The double fatality follows the death of Emma Aubrey in Hamilton on Saturday night.

The 18-year-old was killed when the car she was driving hit a power pole, taking the region's road toll to 27 for the year ended yesterday.

The Waikato road policing manager, Inspector Leo Tooman, urged caution as the region's toll continued to top the country.

"Most people travelling through Waikato are nearing the end of their journeys, so sometimes fatigue is an issue," he said.

"The region is also between the country's two largest ports so there are a lot of trucks on the road.

"We ask people to be wary ... it only takes a moment and it's all over."