Three people were killed this morning when a vehicle left State Highway 35, near Te Araroa.
The victims were a woman and two children believed to be from the East Cape area.
Emergency services responded to the crash at about 5.45am.
"The four-wheel-drive Land Cruiser vehicle had left the road ... the three people in it had passed away when we arrived," a senior firefighter said.
The vehicle was on its roof on the side of the road when the first fire crew arrived.