Six die in weekend accidents

A 17-year-old pedestrian was killed after being hit by a city bus in Hamilton on Friday night -- one of five people killed on the weekend roads.

A spokesman for National Police Headquarters said the bus was travelling north on Avalon Drive in Hamilton West about 10pm when the driver took "evasive action" to avoid a van exiting a driveway.

The teenager, who was crossing the road at the time, was killed.

Lorraine Julia Holland, of Massey, died in Auckland Hospital after her car ran off the road on the Te Atatu peninsula on Saturday around midday.

However, a spokesman for the mortuary office at Auckland Central police station said it appeared the 86-year-old died of "natural causes" rather then injuries sustained in a crash.

Three people died in three separate crashes on Sunday morning.

A teenage driver died when his car was engulfed in fire after slamming into a milk tanker just south of Kawakawa, in the Bay of Islands, around 6.10am.

Senior constable Pat Davis of the Kawakawa police said the teen was driving a Honda Prelude south on State Highway 1 at Waiomio, at the bottom of Long Hill.

He was part-way through overtaking a vehicle towing a jetski when the car collided with a milk tanker head-on.

"The driver, believed to be a 16-year-old Moerewa local, was killed instantly," Mr Davis said.

The car was dragged 100m back down the road, crushed beneath the tanker's wheels.

"The tanker was empty, but it still weighed 16,800kg.

"The driver of the tanker got out of the cab to see what he could do, but noticed flames coming out from under the car.

"The car and cab were completely destroyed by fire."

Mr Davis said it took "some time" to find out there was only one person in the car.

The driver of the vehicle towing the jetski stopped at the scene but appeared to have left before being interviewed by police, Mr Davis said.

"Police would like him or her to contact them their nearest police station in order to further assist with the investigation."

About the same time as the Northland crash, a male passenger was killed when the car in which he was riding rolled off country road on the Hauraki Plains.

He was Andrew Paul Silvester, 17.

Mr Silvester was one of six occupants in the car which rolled off Bush Road near Ngatea, 23km southwest of Thames.

Two other passengers were seriously injured.

One was airlifted to Middlemore Hospital and the other remains in Waikato Hospital's intensive care unit in a serious but stable condition today.

Senior Constable Blair Mattock of Ngatea police said the investigation was still continuing but it appeared both alcohol and speed were factors in the crash.

Whakatane police named a man killed when his motorcycle collided with a four-wheel-drive vehicle at Te Teko, 21km southwest of Whakatane, shortly after 10.30am on Sunday.

He was Malcolm Ruri, 19, of Te Mahoe, 9km from Te Teko.

Mr Ruri died at the scene, Senior Sergeant Andrew O'Reilly of the Whakatane police said.

The police strategic traffic unit was investigating the cause.

The road toll stands at 368, down 20 compared to this time last year.

In an off-road accident, a man was killed on Saturday when his quad bike plunged 50 metres down a forest bank into the Waiotauru river in the Akatarawa hills north of Wellington.

An experienced off-road rider, he was with a friend on a rough back road when the earth gave way beneath two of his wheels, Detective Sergeant Murray Porter said.

"He has fallen down a very, very steep bank, tumbling and crashing through the bush."

The man's friend arrived shortly afterwards and had comforted him, Mr Porter said.

But there was no cell phone or radio reception in the area and the friend was forced to leave to get help.

By the time he contacted emergency services and a helicopter and paramedics arrived at the scene, the man had died.

- NZPA