An 85-year-old pensioner who fell 30m from his clifftop property on to rocks had to wriggle out of his pants to reach his cellphone to raise the alarm.

Police say a motorcyclist likely died on impact when he slid into the path of an oncoming van on State Highway 50 yesterday.

A motorcyclist killed in a collision in Hamilton on Friday night has been named by police as local man Wayde Anthony Thomas.

A New Zealander who died in an avalanche in the French Alps was a “remarkable” woman and an accomplished alpinist and skier, colleagues say.

A 61-year-old Israeli tourist would likely have survived the car crash that killed her in 2013 if she had been wearing a seatbelt, a coroner's inquest has found.

A motorcyclist wearing no helmet or shoes is in a critical condition at Hawke's Bay Hospital after crashing into a fence.

An elderly man has been winched to safety after falling 60 metres down a steep bank onto rocks at Castor Bay this afternoon.

A motorcyclist has died this afternoon after colliding with another vehicle in Hawke's Bay.

A woman who asked a depressed friend to leave so she could get some sleep has been told she is not to blame for him fatally crashing his car on the way home.

A New Zealander is among six skiers who went missing after being carried away by an avalanche during a trek in the French Alps.

A 6-year-old girl has died following a trail biking accident at the Jayden Kilmister trail bike memorial event in Masterton yesterday.

The passenger who was riding pillion on a motorcycle in Huntly on Friday has been named.

The distraught boss of a 27-year-old man killed in a head-on collision says his employee volunteered to take his place on a business trip.

Two men were injured after a truck rolled in Canterbury yesterday.

A brave dad plunged into Auckland Harbour last night to save his three-year-old daughter after she fell.

A father and son are recovering in hospital after falling some 100m down a cliff near Tauranga yesterday.

Civil Aviation Authority investigators have yet to find an obvious cause of a fatal microlight accident which killed two people in Timaru on Friday.

Two people have died in a microlight crash near Timaru.

The coronial process has been inextricably linked to New Zealand becoming a safer place to live and visit over the last 20 years, a retiring coroner has said today.

The driver of a truck that smashed through a barrier, plunged down a bank and landed on a motorway 7m below reckons he's had worse injuries during his jockey days.

A man has been taken to hospital in a critical condition after a crash in Takapuna, Auckland today.

A gas leak in Ponsonby led to the evacuation of many businesses in the area last night.

When Harley McEwan's lawnmower stalled, he instinctively used his hand to remove the sticks caught between the machine's cutter blade - without stopping the motor.

One person is confirmed dead and six others are injured after two trucks and an SUV towing a trailer collided tonight in Western Bay of Plenty.

Two gliders have landed safely with no injuries south of Auckland, despite earlier reports of a light aircraft crash.

The object that flew through a windscreen, killing a young driver, has never been found - and now a coroner has said, it's unlikely that it ever will be.

80-year-old Tararua farmer Donald Robbie was driving his farm truck, with 4.5c metres of gravel down a steep hill when his brakes failed.

Finn Drummond's eyes have survived not one but two freak accidents, increasing the risk of long-term damage to his sight.

A Nelson-based laundry company has been ordered to pay more than $45,000, after one of its workers crushed his hand in a workplace accident.