A van carrying eight members of a family plunging 15m from State Highway 5 near Te Haraoto on Jan 2 got the New Year off to a bad start.

Police have released the name of the cyclist killed in a collision with a truck at the intersection of Stanley St and Parnell Rise, Auckland yesterday afternoon.

Bystanders were powerless to save a cyclist at one of Auckland's busiest intersections as police reveal the truckie had a green light and was unaware he'd hit the rider.

A truck driver did not know a cyclist had gone under the wheels of his truck until he was alerted by other motorists some 70 metres away, police say.

The family of a 6-year-old Invercargill boy who died after a quad bike crash said they are "deeply saddened'' by the accident.

A man who died when his motorcycle and a car collided in Waikato at the weekend was part of a larger group returning to Auckland from a tour of the South Island.

A man killed when his jetboat spun out of control and crashed into a tree west of Hastings at the weekend was an experienced boater who was "so looking forward" to the trip.

Motorists are being warned to take care as they make their way home from holiday destinations after four fatal crashes in as many days.

Two aviators had a lucky escape after their aircraft suffered a fuel leak and caught fire this afternoon.

Schumacher had an almost pathological desire to win, which blurred ethical lines more than once in his career.

Toys that can choke children, blenders that leave blades in food and ladders that fail safety tests are just some of nearly 150 products recalled in NZ since 2012.

Sikh priests were urgently ushered into the intensive care unit to pray for the most critically injured victims of the Hawkes Bay crash that injured eight relatives.

The driver of a van that plunged 15m down a sheer cliff is believed to have fallen asleep at the wheel.

School injuries are on the rise - with explosions, scalding liquid, and fungi ingestion among the causes of more than 77,600 injuries in the past year.

Eight family members, including a six-month-old boy and two young girls, were injured in a horror van crash today after the driver is believed to have fallen asleep.

A motorcyclist has died just off State Highway 1 north of Bulls this morning, taking the holiday road toll to six.

One person is dead after a bus and car collided in Hamilton today, bringing the holiday road toll to five.

A mother trapped in a rolled van was asking rescuers about her baby daughter as she slipped in and out of consciousness. The 11-month-old girl died hours later.

Alice Mooney saw the horse rear and then watched as it fell towards her and slammed her into the ground.

A taxi driver feels lucky to have escaped death after his car was swept away by the swollen Silver Stream near Dunedin.

Police say they are confident the body recovered from Nelson Lakes National Park yesterday afternoon is that of missing British tramper Andrew Ian Wyatt.

Search and rescue teams looking for a British tramper have found a body at the bottom of a 100m cliff.

A mid-air plane crash that killed two women in Manawatu was caused when the wing of one light aircraft was clipped by the tyre of the other, an interim report has found.

Two cars collided tonight on State Highway 1 on the southern side of the Brynderwyn Hill south of Whangarei.