Seven-car smash seriously injures three

Three people were in hospital with serious injuries last night after a seven-car pile-up at Maramarua on State Highway 2.

The accident happened at 5.05pm and left two people trapped in one car and one trapped in another.

Two of the three were in a serious condition and the other in a critical condition. Two were flown to Auckland City Hospital in the Westpac rescue helicopter and the third was taken by ambulance.

Inspector Ian Brooker of the police northern communications centre said there were young children in one car and residents near the scene said there could have been up to five children.

One of the drivers involved in the pile-up disappeared from the crash site and was found by police about a kilometre away. He was taken to Huntly police station for breath testing and to be interviewed.

State Highway 2 was closed at the junction with State Highway 1 and traffic was diverted south to Te Kauwhata.

Mr Brooker said serious-crash investigators went to the scene and the diversions were likely to be in place until midnight last night.

Ryan McSheffrey's farm, on McWatt Rd, overlooks the accident site. He said last night that his wife, Kathlene, and his parents had all had near-misses at the intersection which, since Transit had put in road cones, was an accident waiting to happen.

"I heard no screeching, nothing like that, just a humungous bang."

Transit, in conjunction with the police, has been putting road cones on passing lanes along State Highway 2 in a bid to make it safer, but Mr McSheffrey said the way the cones were set up near the intersection with McWatt Rd gave motorists going north the illusion of the road turning into an overtaking lane.

He said that recently he was driving south along State Highway 2 towards McWatt Rd and the road was clear. As he rounded the corner near McWatt Rd a truck, heading towards Auckland, was driving straight towards him.

The driver had obviously misread the cones and thought it had turned into a passing lane.

"I actually thought we'd had it. You could see the truck driver's face, his face was white. He was pulling hard trying to pull over."