Three killed in North Island road crashes

Road smashes at opposite ends of the North Island overnight have left three people dead.

One person died in a crash at Kaukapakapa, north of Auckland, while a collision between a van and a car on State Highway One, just outside Wellington, killed two others.

The Kaukapakapa crash occurred shortly after midnight on Stoney Creek Road.

The driver of the car involved in the Wellington collision - in the southbound lane between Tawa and Churton Park- died at the scene.

A second person involved in that crash died after being taken to hospital, while another person remains in a critical condition.

Police believe driver error may have been a cause of the Wellington crash and are keen to hear from anyone who remembers seeing a Nissan van or a Honda before the crash at 8:40pm.

Both incidents are being investigated by the Police Serious Crash Unit.

The overnight crashes follow a head-on-collision near Palmerston North yesterday in which two people are understood to have died.

The passenger of one car, believed to be an elderly woman, was killed while the female driver and two children also in the car were seriously hurt.

The driver of the other car, an elderly man, was also seriously injured and later died, according to reports.

Two further crashes near Tauranga and Taupo claimed four lives overnight on Thursday, bringing the road toll to eight in less than 48 hours.