Police are diverting traffic at the intersection of Forrest Hill and Wairau roads following a crash near Westlake Girls' High School.
Five school children were hurt after a driver lost control and a car ploughed into a group at a bus stop near Westlake Girls' High School on Auckland's North Shore.
Police today said all five students bowled by the car before school started this morning went to Westlake Girls' and Boys' High Schools.
Westlake Girls' High confirmed three of those injured were students and one other victim was from nearby Westlake Boys' High School.
Acting Inspector Jason Homan said one female student was in a critical condition, and another who was seriously injured had been taken to Auckland City Hospital.
An Auckland District Health Board spokeswoman said two others hurt in the accident were in a stable condition in Starship Children's Hospital.
Local business owner Lance Shepherd says it looks like a Skyline car has mounted the footpath about 50m before the bus stop and crashed through six steel panels of a barrier fence. He says an injured girl was left lying with her head in the gutter. He could see a shoe on the ground, a school bag and text books in the bus shelter.
Orange markers on the road suggest a car has come from Wairau Rd and lost control before smashing through a fence. The markers run from the road on to the footpath near the bus stop. The front of the vehicle is crunched up and the windscreen is smashed. Witnesses say a person thought to be the driver was seen in tears in the back of a police car.
The damaged car has now been towed from the crash site. Photo / Doug Sherring
The crashed car has now been taken from the scene.
Shepherd says it's a wonder more students weren't hurt because hundreds of kids are in the area at that time of the morning.
Other witnesses reported pedestrians were lying injured on the ground.
A witness has posted on Facebook that a metal fence at the college has been smashed through. Other witnesses said a bus stop outside the school has been destroyed.
One of the first people on the scene described hearing victims wailing as they lay injured on the ground.
The woman said the blue car had crashed into a fence next to the bus stop.
"I was driving past at the time and it must have just happened as no paramedics or police were on the scene yet. It did take them a while because of peak traffic. I lowered my window to listen for an ambulance siren but instead I heard wailing from the victims."
Police are photographing and measuring the crash site. Photo / Doug Sherring
One lane of Wairau Rd has reopened although police remain at the scene.
Decile 9 Westlake Girls is the country's biggest girls' high school and has 2258 students.
