Three dead after bus and car collide

Three people are dead after the car they were in collided head-on with a bus full of teenagers, becoming wedged underneath it on State Highway 1 near Taupo.


Senior Sergeant Tony Jeurissen of Taupo police said the collision happened at around 1.30pm, at Maroa, 25km north of Taupo towards Tokoroa.


"On arrival at the scene Taupo police and emergency services were confronted by a bus carrying 43 people travelling south stopped in the middle of its lane," he said.


"Wedged directly under the front of the bus was a late model Hyundai Motor vehicle with, we think, three passengers, all deceased."


Mr Jeurissen said the weather at the time of the crash was "miserable", with low cloud, mist and persistent rain. The road surfaces were greasy.


He said it was believed the Hyundai had been overtaking vehicles while heading north.


"As it came to the end of a short straight, the bus travelling south has come around a slight corner and the Hyundai has crashed directly into the front of the bus, killing all the occupants in the Hyundai," he said.


"My impressions at the scene were that the driver of the motor vehicle has made an incredibly bad decision considering the circumstances."


The bus was carrying four army personnel, a civilian driver and 37 male and female teenagers on their way to an army camp at Waiouru.


Six people on the bus received minor injuries and were taken to Taupo Hospital. The others were taken to Taupo's Great Lake Centre where they were looked after by police and Victim Support before continuing on their journey to Waiouru.


"Given this is the first week of the school holidays and the weather conditions this crash must be a salutary reminder to all members of the community about driving carefully and to the weather conditions," he said.


- NZPA