Man, 72, at scene of mother's road death

A 72-year-old man was comforted at the roadside after his 96-year-old mother was fatally struck by a utility vehicle in the Bay of Plenty yesterday.

The woman became the 21st road fatality in a week when she was hit by the ute driven by a man, also aged 72, as she crossed State Highway 33 in Paengaroa, 50km northeast of Rotorua, at about 5pm.

Her son, who was at the scene when the accident happened, was comforted by members of the public and ambulance staff.

"Members of the Tauranga serious crash unit will continue their investigations over coming days and the matter has been referred to the coroner," Senior Sergeant Rob Glencross said.

"It does not appear at this stage that speed or alcohol were factors in the accident."

The driver of the vehicle and his passenger were shaken but uninjured in the crash.

Twelve people died as a result of road crashes over the Easter weekend, and three crashes on Tuesday, a double-fatal and a triple-fatal crash on Wednesday, and yesterday's crossing crash brought the week's toll to 21.

Inspector John McClelland from Police National Headquarters said it had been a "horrendous" week for accidents.

"All this stuff is preventable. And it's just such a waste of life," he said.

The same factors seemed to be behind many of the accidents, he said, with speed and alcohol a suspected factor in five of the crashes.

"The disappointing thing for many of them is booze and speed, and really police can do only so much, you can legislate only so much," he said.

"People driving vehicles just really have to take responsibility when they're on the road and be aware of what's happening around them and be prepared for the unexpected."

Meanwhile, a man who rescued a car driver involved in a crash which killed two, including a baby, on Saturday, said the trapped man stank of alcohol.

Josh Skinner, 21, said after he pulled the trapped driver from the burning vehicle near his home town of Kawerau on Saturday night, the man did not know what day it was.

The sickness beneficiary said he checked one of the cars involved in the three-car crash.

As he checked one car and found a baby in it, he heard screaming coming from the car on fire, he told The New Zealand Herald today.

It was engulfed in flames and he ran across the highway to drag the driver trapped in his seat, through the broken car window.

He said his arm caught on the pillar of the window on the way out and he was badly burned.

He said he could smell the alcohol on the driver's breath and the car reeked of alcohol.

Mr Skinner said although he permanently damaged nerves in his right wrist, he would do the same thing again.

The driver, 22, was in a stable condition in Waikato Hospital with critical injuries.

Fraser Douglas Nathan, 23, and six-month-old Kalaisha Matangireia Princess Hale, died in the crash.

- NZPA