Teen in stolen car among four deaths in weekend road crashes

One person was killed and two critically injured when a stolen car smashed into a power pole in Manurewa on Saturday night.

Maryanne Vataua, 14, a passenger in the vehicle, was one of four people who died in separate crashes over the weekend.

Three people were in the car when it crashed, said Inspector Paul Marshall of the police northern communications centre.

An American tourist was among three people who died in crashes that occurred within a few hours late on Friday afternoon.

A 60-year-old Bluff woman died after her car and another vehicle collided on the corner of the Bluff Highway and Moturimu Rd about 4.50pm.

Annette Elizabeth Attfield was taken to Southland Hospital but succumbed to her injuries about 3am on Saturday.

Acting Senior Sergeant Mark Lucas of Invercargill said the people in the other car suffered minor injuries.

The cause of the crash was under investigation.

A tourist from New York was killed and two other people were critically injured in a head-on crash in Northland about 5.35pm on Friday.

The dead woman was Rita Zaross, aged 62.

The crash occurred in a no-passing zone on State Highway 1 near Taipa.

Mrs Zaross' husband, Irving, 66, who was driving, and a 51-year-old Kaitaia man who was at the wheel of the other vehicle, were flown to hospital in a critical condition.

Also on Friday night, around 6.45, a man was killed in a crash near Hawera.

- NZPA