"One person in the ute was almost out - the other person we had to cut free," Casey said.
"They have had a big, high-speed impact, unfortunately."
Despite the best efforts of St John ambulance staff, only one person survived to be taken to Dunedin Hospital.
"It was a fantastic response from St John today. We had all the resources that we could have asked for," Casey said.
"But they had sustained critical injuries unfortunately ... this was pretty close to home."
Casey said crash scene investigators were working to determine the cause.
"We have been to some calls at the intersection before, but it's certainly not a black spot by any means," he said.
Police confirmed two people had died at the crash scene, and one person was transferred to Dunedin Hospital.
No other people were believed to have been in the vehicles.
Before yesterday, eight people had died on Otago roads this year: four drivers, two passengers, one motorcycle rider and one pedestrian.
