Three die as carnage hits roads

Five people were injured in this Timaru accident. Photo / Supplied by Brian High

A fatal crash closed State Highway 1 in Warkworth last night, bringing the road toll to three inside 28 hours.

A motorcyclist was killed after his machine and a car collided near the intersection with Valerie Close about 7pm.

Police said a white Toyota Altezza and silver Subaru Legacy were involved in the incident and appealed for anyone who had seen them driving between Auckland Airport and the crash site to come forward.

A 37-year-old male motorcyclist died in a crash near Punakaiki on the South Island's West Coast soon after midnight yesterday.

Michelle Hook, 51, died after her car and a van collided south of Nelson on Friday afternoon. The 30-year-old van driver sustained serious injuries.

Five people were injured after a head-on collision between a Nissan Bluebird and a Toyota 4WD on State Highway 1, south of Timaru, about 5.15pm yesterday. The Nissan driver was in coma in a critical condition. Her two passengers suffered minor to moderate injuries. An elderly passenger in the Toyota was in a stable condition. The driver received minor injuries.

A van with five people on board collided with a car containing two adults and a child in Waiomu about 2.30pm.

A child was taken to Auckland Hospital and two adults, from Tokoroa, went to Waikato Hospital. Emergency services freed a youth after the car he was in plunged into a river near Palmerston North about 4.55am. He suffered serious injuries.

Twelve people were involved in a crash between a shuttle bus and a taxi in Christchurch about 3.40am yesterday. Two were taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Eight people were hospitalised after their four-wheel-drive vehicle rolled into a ditch 13km northeast of Nelson on Friday afternoon.