Changes to the law to limit the number of drinks a person can have before driving are being welcomed by the family of a young woman nearly killed by a drunk driver.

A man has told how he avoided a vehicle that had crossed the centre line only to discover minutes later it had ploughed into the car his wife was driving, killing her.

A 7-year-old boy and his 22-year-old uncle who drowned in northern Hawke's Bay yesterday have been named by police.

A 4-year-old Auckland girl was badly burned after a firework thrown by her brother landed in the hood of her pyjamas.

A Swedish extreme-altitude skier who plunged 600m to his death near the peak of Aoraki-Mt Cook had set a new record on the mountain just days earlier.

Ten days before Jason Gibson died, he visited his parents at their Christchurch home.

A husband watched in horror as an oncoming car smashed head-on into his wife's vehicle, travelling behind his.

Police said the collision involved multiple cars and occurred at the intersection of State Highway 1 and Richards Rd in Hikurangi.

Hundreds of ACC claims arising from firework injuries are expected in the next few days as New Zealanders let off shop-bought explosives.

An immigrant taxi driver charged with careless driving after his wife lost their unborn baby in an accident says he still has faith in the New Zealand justice system.

Rutger Hale and Danielle Oylear's love story began with a chance meeting in a bar, but it was a cruel twist that tore them apart, his funeral service was told yesterday.

Vehicle Inspection New Zealand has said the death of one of its workers was a tragic and unfortunate accident.

A forestry company has been criticised in the death of worker Reece Reid who was too inexperienced to be felling trees.

A grieving mother is pleading with parents never to leave their young children alone in water after her infant son drowned in a bath.

A specialist Christchurch-based police search team has been brought in to help in the hunt for a mystery object which killed 22-year-old driver Rutger Hale.

A person has died following a motor vehicle accident near Queenstown.

The father of a promising young rugby player has described how he could only tell his son to "hang on, mate" as he lay dying on a roadside early yesterday.

A motorcyclist suffered life-threatening injuries in East Auckland yesterday after colliding with a vehicle and being flipped into the path of another rider.

A man who died at a popular diving spot off the Coromandel Peninsula yesterday was diving with family members at the time.

Isaiah Backhouse has always wanted to ride in a helicopter - but being whisked away in one after landing on his head wasn't how the 7-year-old imagined his first flight.

Four people including a small child were injured when a fire appliance was involved in a collision with a car and a power pole yesterday.

The family of a young Auckland man killed when an unknown object smashed through his vehicle's windscreen near Wanaka say his girlfriend is traumatised by the crash.

A fleeing driver rammed a police patrol car then crashed into the back of a roadworks truck following a dramatic pursuit involving armed police.