Tributes are flowing for the brave pilot who made a split-second decision to slam into water instead of crash-landing among hundreds of beach-goers at Raglan.

Jane Watts said last goodbyes to her severely injured husband five times and could only have dreamed she would spend another Christmas with him.

The woman, in her 20s, fell down a steep cliff and into the river below, striking her head on the way down.

A pensioner has been rescued from Abel Tasman National Park after falling and injuring her hip.

A man who died at a south Auckland beach yesterday was trying out a new surf board he received as a Christmas present.

Woman on board small plane that spluttered and crashed into Raglan harbour yesterday, narrowly avoiding hundreds of holidaymakers.

An elderly couple remain in a serious condition in Tauranga Hospital, following a crash in the Bay of Plenty yesterday.

A man has died and two others have been seriously injured in the first fatal crash of New Zealand's Christmas and New Year road toll period.

Family members of four people killed in a pre-Christmas crash have visited the scene and performed a traditional Asian blessing.

The two children killed in a Northland crash which also killed two men were high achievers who often won awards.

Almost a year after being hit while riding her bike, Samantha Robertson has swapped cycling for sheep riding.

The four people who died in a horrific crash on State Highway One yesterday when a Range Rover did a U-turn into the path of a logging truck have been named.

Police are urging care on the roads over the holidays as a four-car crash leaves one person critically injured.

Driver of a 44-tonne logging truck was powerless to prevent a collision that killed four people and left a boy, 8, fighting for his life.

A baby was feared to be among the victims as six people died and eight were injured when a rubbish truck careered out of control and into crowds of Christmas shoppers.

A former airline boss claims the US shot down flight MH370 because the military feared it had been taken over by hackers.

Gisborne harbourmaster Captain Charlie Jamieson has been killed while riding his motorcycle on the East Cape highway at Waihau Bay near Cape Runaway.

A man impaled himself on a tree while out for a run on Kawau Island on the weekend.

Mike Rankin counts himself lucky, despite his new truck plummeting over a bank at his Caversham home.

Dakota Leef is 8 years old, and a hero. His story of bravery - running to get help for his stricken grandfather - has a sad ending...

The family of a cyclist left a quadriplegic after riding into a sinkhole are considering legal action over a report into the horrific incident.

Every day before work Auckland dad Danny Mafi drives to his baby daughter's grave to "see her and to say a prayer".

An 8-year-old girl struck on a pedestrian crossing is expected to be woken from her coma today.

A pregnant woman was trapped by a trailer on a rural property near Matamata yesterday.

The aunt of an eight-year-old struck by a car on a pedestrian crossing saw the accident unfold in her rear-view mirror just seconds after she passed the youngster.

Police have interviewed a woman who allegedly hit a young girl crossing a West Auckland road this morning.

A report is calling for tighter controls on children operating off-road vehicles following the deaths of 22 children at the controls since 2002.