Two people seriously injured in Waharoa crash after car hits fence

A 22-year-old man has been seriously hurt after he was thrown from a vehicle that left the road and struck a power pole.

The crash happened near the Waikato township of Tokaanu about 7pm yesterday.

The Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter was sent to the scene and paramedics stabilised the man, who had multiple injuries, before he was flown to Waikato Hospital.

Meanwhile, NZTA is urging people travelling on State Highway 1 through Taupiri in the Waikato to expect delays and watch out for pedestrians due to a burial at the urupa scheduled for about midday.

The warning comes after a horror start to Queen's Birthday weekend on the roads, with one person dead and another fighting for their life just hours into the official holiday road toll period began.

Two people have been badly hurt after a car hit a fence at Waharoa, near Matamata, this morning.

Emergency services were called to the scene of the latest accident on Mills St, Waharoa, at 4.52am.

Three people were reportedly trapped in the purple saloon vehicle, two of whom were taken to hospital with serious injuries.

The Serious Crash Unit has been advised.

NZTA is warning roads across the lower South Island may be slippery this morning due to ice.

Ice is expected on State Highway 8 between Alexandra and Raes Junction and at Lindis Pass, on State Highway 6 between Kawarau Gorge and Gibbston and Kingston to Frankton, on SH94 between Te Anau Downs and Gulliver River Bridge and on State Highway 73 between Springfield and Arthurs Pass.

Drivers should take extra care through these areas.

Delays of up to 20 minutes are likely from Murchison to Inangahua Junction on SH6 as maintenance crews carry out rock scaling work.

There's black ice on SH85 from Alexandra to Palmerston, SH8 Omarama to Twizel, SH87 Kyeburn to Mosgiel and SH94 Mossburn to Te Anau.

So far this year 166 people have been killed in crashes.

A male was critically hurt after a quad bike flipped in the small mid-Canterbury town of Hinds about 7.30pm yesterday.

A helicopter was sent to the scene on Liddles Rd and the injured person was airlifted to Christchurch Hospital.

He was in the Intensive Care Unit this morning, a Canterbury DHB spokesman said.

The latest fatality happened near Turangi about 5.40pm yesterday after a car, believed to carrying three occupants, crashed into a ditch and brought down power lines on SH47.

A police spokeswoman said two people were out of the car when police arrived but one was still trapped. Te Maramatangi Marion Anderson, 71, from Turangi died at the scene.

One of the other two occupants was airlifted to Waikato Hospital in a critical condition.

The crash caused a power cut. About 800 homes between Tokaanu and Waiotaka were affected.

Earlier that day, before the holiday road toll period began, a two-car collision left one person dead and a man in his 20s in a critical condition.

That crash happened on State Highway 1 near Wellsford, north of Auckland, about 11am yesterday and closed the road.

Holiday makers had to take an hour-long detour through Mangawhai.

Area Commander of Waitemata North Inspector Bruce O'Brien said two vehicles crashed north of Wellsford at around 11.15am and the driver of one of the vehicles died at the scene.

The male driver of the other vehicle was airlifted to Auckland Hospital in a critical condition.

However, an Auckland DHB spokeswoman said this morning he was now in a stable condition.

Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust intensive care paramedic Russell Clarke said it was high-speed and high-impact crash that happened on a slippery blind bend.

"It took us about 40 minutes to get the guy in critical condition out of the car. We had to cut open the roof and remove the steering," Clarke said.