Two members of a four-wheel-drive club were killed and three injured by an overturned milk tanker sliding down a road near Tauranga.
Vincent Greg Hyland, 38, and Clayton Neville Woodward, 28, died when the separate 4WDs they were driving were hit by the tanker on State Highway 29 at Tauriko on Sunday night.
Police said the two, both fathers of young children, had no chance of avoiding the tanker.
Two male passengers from one 4WD, aged 35 and 15, and the tanker's 29-year-old driver were seriously injured and were in intensive care at Tauranga Hospital last night.
A 34-year-old man, another passenger in one of the 4WDs, received minor injuries.
The crash closed State Highway 29 for five hours.
Police said the tanker driver lost control on a moderate bend and clipped a trailer.
The tanker rolled on to its side.
"The truck has then slid down the road across both lanes and struck the two oncoming vehicles," Senior Sergeant Ian Campion said.
"Neither of the deceased really had anywhere to go. The vehicle covered the entire roadway."
All those in the 4WDs were members of the Bay of Plenty Four Wheel Drive Club, and were going home to Tauranga after a day in the Kaimai Ranges.
"There are a lot of people who are grieving," club president Neville Dunton said yesterday.
Mr Hyland and Mr Woodward had helped winch out an unrelated vehicle stuck on a track during the day.
"They're both great guys and it's just such a shame," Mr Dunton said.
Mr Hyland, a storeman, was a longstanding member of the club and shared the passion with his family.
"It's our thing," Sally, his wife of 11 years, told the Herald.
The couple and their 17-month-old son, Zachary, were in Napier the previous weekend, when Mr Hyland won a 4WD winching competition.
"I was really proud of him," Mrs Hyland said.
Mr Woodward, a truck driver, was a newer member of the club.
Tauranga fire officer Mark Keller said one 4WD smashed into a power pole and brought down 11,000 volt lines, which set fire to a hedge.
Out-of-control milk tanker kills drivers in two vehicles
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