Road deaths: Waikato woman's stark warning after fatal crash

Olivia Lyndon, pictured with daughter Manaia, is urging motorists to pay attention after witnessing a horror crash in Cambridge on Saturday night. Photo / Supplied

A Waikato woman who narrowly escaped being in a fatal crash that killed two parents and seriously injured their baby, says memories of that night will forever haunt her.

The young mum is now urging others to pay careful attention when driving in the hope no one will ever have to witness such a horrifying crash scene.

In a heartfelt Facebook post, Olivia Lyndon credits the fact she wasn't speeding as a major factor in her avoiding a truck travelling on the wrong side of Cambridge Rd, Leamington, on Saturday night.

The truck had veered off course after colliding with the car that killed a young couple and injured their 9-month-old baby boy, who is nowrecovering in Waikato Hospital.

It then continued onto the wrong side of the road, hurtling towards her and her 10-month-old daughter before she swerved to avoid it.

"I had to slam my brakesbut swerved towards the ditch to my left as I was worried the car behind me was going to rear end me, but thankfully they reacted quickly too," she said.

"I managed to slow down just in time for the truck to careen right past in front of us into the ditch and then up into the paddock (he had quite some momentum behind him still)."

It was only after her car had landed in a ditch that she discovered the ute in front of her had been hit.

The crash was one of five which killed eight people on roads at the weekend.

On Saturday morning a woman died in a two-vehicle crash in Tahuna, 18km north of Morrinsville, then that night a person died when their vehicle hit a power pole on State Highway 25 near Pipiroa, 15km southwest of Thames.

A horror crash in Northland early on Sunday killed three people from the same family - Maurice Kareko, 35, Rhiannon Walters, 11, and Alec Walters, 5. A child was also critically hurt. The crash happened at 2.15am when a car smashed into a tree near Whananaki.

A man also died in a two-car crash on SH3 at Piopio on Sunday afternoon.

Lyndon said the last few moments before the crash will be "imprinted on my brain for life" after being inches away from colliding with the truck herself.

She pulled out on to Cambridge Rd in a 50km/h zone when a ute sped up behind her and she thought "nope, you can slow down mister!"

They were just a few hundred metres away from the 80km/h zone so she started accelerating.

"Seconds later I was going around a corner slamming my brakesand veering off the road inches away from colliding into a truck."

Those last moments had been replaying in her head over the past few days.

"It was traumatic, devastating, and unnatural witnessing someone take their last breaths of life in such a cruel way."

Lyndon said all the decisions she made leading up to the crash helped prevent her and possibly others from becoming victims of a fatal crash.

"That day I made good decisions, but I'll be the first to own up to the fact that I don't always make the right decisions when I drive. Sometimes I go over the speed limit, or check my phone, or don't drive to the conditions, or start speeding up well before hitting the 100km/hr zone.

Lyndon, a nurse, said although she had experienced dealing with loss of life before, the crash was different.

"That day the reality of how fragile and precious life is really hit me in full force. Being so close to death and experiencing the death of others was a huge reality check," she said.

"Maybe it was because mine and my daughter's life hung in the balance for a second, I don't know. All I know is, hold your dear ones close, tell them you love them every day, stop worrying or caring about the petty stuff, stop being in such a hurry, cause you'll never know when yours or their last breath will be."