Three-way smash seriously injures 10-year-old boy

The accident scene at Otaki, north of Wellington. Photo / Life Flight Trust

A 10-year-old boy is in hospital with critical head injuries after two cars and a truck collided north of Wellington yesterday.

Life Flight Trust crewman Colin Larsen said the Westpac Rescue Helicopter arrived on the scene on State Highway 1 about 11.25am, where multiple patients were treated.

A 10-year-old Waikanae boy, who was a rear-seat passenger in one of the vehicles, was flown to Wellington Hospital emergency department by helicopter with head injuries.

Four other people were taken by ambulance, one was in a serious condition and the others had moderate injuries.

The road was closed for four hours while emergency services cleared the scene.

Nearby resident Aaron Stevens said the road was notorious because driveways exited on to a very busy and bendy stretch of road.

"With that speed and with people pulling in and out of properties, it's not safe. I have nearly collected cars, people and pets out on that road."

Detective Slade Sturmey of Levin CIB said the crash happened at a location known as Marycrest.

A northbound white car was stopped on SH1 indicating to turn right into a private driveway, he said. A small truck ploughed into the back of it, pushing it into the southbound lane, where it collided with a car coming the other way.

The 10-year-old boy was undergoing surgery last night.

A 7-year-old girl has spinal injuries and injuries to the remaining occupants were not believed to be life-threatening.

Two people in the truck and another two in the other car were treated at the scene.

Meanwhile, a 31-year-old pedestrian was hit by a car and killed early yesterday in the coastal Nelson suburb of Atawhai.

And a child was seriously injured on Maraetai Coast Rd near Clevedon yesterday afternoon, after being struck by a bicycle or motorbike.

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Vehicle rolls, man dies

Frantic efforts by a group of off-road enthusiasts failed to save the life of a passenger in a Toyota Land Cruiser which dropped 35m off a bank on farmland in Ruakituri, near Wairoa.

Gary Grayson, 72, and Mike Finlayson, 69, were on a three-day fundraising safari with 117 other drivers when the vehicle rolled about 2.30pm on Friday.

Organiser Mark Harris said a group of people, including two nurses, spent 90 minutes keeping Grayson conscious.

Grayson later died in the rescue helicopter.

Finlayson remained in a serious but stable condition at Hawkes Bay Hospital.