North Island crashes leave three injured

Police say two people have serious injuries following a head on crash between two cars just before 6:30pm. Photo / File

Two car crashes this evening in the North Island have left three people injured, two of them seriously.

The two were in a head-on crash between two cars at Waitakaruru in the Waikato just before 6.30pm.

One person was trapped in the vehicle but had been freed, a spokesman for the Hamilton police district command centre said.

A helicopter was dispatched to fly the two people to hospital.State Highway 2 was closed and traffic diversions were in place.

The serious crash unit will investigate the collision.

In Manawatu about 5.50pm, a person suffered moderate injuries in a two-car crash at Oroua Downs, approximately 3km north of the Himatangi Beach/State Highway 1 intersection.

The injured person was taken to Palmerston North Hospital.

The police said the state highway was blocked and a detour was in place along Downs, Kellow and Taikorea Rds.

The weather at the time was dry and sunny, and Acting Senior Sergeant Brendon Gerrish said the police were investigating the crash.