A man was killed after the bus he was driving crashed off Rotherham Rd, North Canterbury, into water. Photo / Google
Sixteen people have been hurt and one killed after a spate of crashes on New Zealand roads overnight.
Three of the injured were seriously hurt, St John ambulance said.
Five of the seven crashes happened in the South Island.
A man, the sole occupant of a bus, died after his vehicle careened off Rotherham Rd in North Canterbury into water about 7.45pm.
A person was taken to Kew Hospital in a serious condition after a crash in Bluff just before 8.30pm.
Two people were hurt - one had moderate injuries and the other minor injuries - after a crash in New Plymouth at 8.40pm. The pair were taken to Taranaki Hospital.
Another three were injured in a smash in Lucas Heights, on Auckland's North Shore, about 10.25pm.
St John ambulance took the patients to North Shore and Auckland hospitals.
One person was in a serious condition and the other two had moderate injuries.
Just before 12.30am four people were involved in a crash in Claremont. All had moderate injuries and were taken to Timaru Hospital.
Two people were treated by paramedics after a crash in Oamaru about 1am before being taken to Oamaru Hospital.
They were both in a moderate condition, St John ambulance said.
Another pair were flown to hospital after a single vehicle crash in Clutha district, near Gore.
It happened just before 3am in Cranleigh Rd, Rongahere, where St John paramedics treated four people at the scene.
One of them was in a serious condition and three had minor injuries.
A police spokesman said two helicopters were called and two people were flown to Dunedin Hospital.
Pet owners might soon 'start to take matters into their own hands', resident says.