KEY POINTS:
The holiday weekend road has got off to the worst possible start with a teenager facing a manslaughter charge over one crash and four dead in another.
A man was also killed in a motor cycle crash bringing the toll to six this morning - the same as for the entire Easter weekend last year.
A 16-year-old boy is due to appear in Christchurch Youth Court today after a girl passenger in his car died last night from head injuries suffered in a crash on Thursday during a police chase.
The boy was allegedly driving a stolen car which slammed into a tree in Belfast, on the northern outskirts of the city.
His two female passengers were taken to Christchurch Hospital with serious head injuries, with one - a 16-year-old - dying last night.
The second is still in a serious condition but her injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.
The driver has been charged with manslaughter as well as raft of other charges which include drink driving, burglary and car theft.
Detective Senior Sergeant Grant Wormald said the driver had run from the accident but was tracked by a police dog and caught on a nearby farm shortly after.
The name of the crash victim has not yet been released.
Police are continuing to investigate the lead-up to the crash and the Independent Police Conduct Authority is also investigating the incident.
Meanwhile, four people died after a head-on collision in South Auckland yesterday afternoon. It was Auckland's worst accident in three years.
The crash occurred when a Nissan station wagon and a Pajero four wheel drive collided on North Road, about 3km north of Clevedon, at 12.30pm.
The Nissan was carrying a family of five tourists from Hong Kong on an Easter fishing trip.
Four of the family, including a girl aged about 10, were killed.
The sole survivor from the stationwagon was the girl's older sister, whose husband was driving. She was in a serious condition in Middlemore Hospital last night.
The occupants of the Pajero, including a girl aged about 12, were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
Police said an initial scene examination showed that the Nissan had drifted across the centre line and begun to slide along the opposing lane.
The Pajero had come over a rise in the road on the opposing side and had been unable to avoid the Nissan, colliding with the centre pillar on the drivers side of the car.
Ms Barlow said identifying the deceased would take some time, and their names might not be released until Sunday.
Witness Ryan Croon, who lives close to the accident site, was alerted to the tragedy by a noise that sounded "like an exploding bomb".
He said the scene that greeted him and his father Rodney was horrifying.
The Nissan's engine was still running and was in gear, he said.
A pall of grey-black smoke was coming from the tyres as they spun on the tarseal. The smoke and noise raised fears of an explosion or fire. But the car's doors were locked.
Using a hammer he took from a neighbour who was building a fence, Ryan Croon smashed through the car's back window.
He squeezed inside, clambered over the three people lying still on the back seat, and turned the ignition off.
The driver was nowhere to be seen - he had been flung from the vehicle.
Mr Croon unlocked the doors. In the front passenger seat the surviving woman was conscious, but her right arm and shoulder were severely injured.
For the next 30 minutes, Mr Croon sat beside her, talking to her and calming her.
He said the cars were "mangled", but he forced himself to focus on the woman, whose name was Clara.
"It was just a nightmare situation.
Earlier yesterday, a motorcyclist died when he crashed on Eskdale Road in the Auckland suburb of Glenfield. No other vehicles were involved.
- NZPA
