Claimants battling ACC for entitlements say its $4.9 billion surplus is "ridiculous" and "obscene" given how difficult it has made it for New Zealanders to obtain compensation.

Police were en route to intercept a car driving the wrong way on Auckland's northwestern motorway this morning before the vehicle collided with another car.

Two children were injured in a head-on crash after a car drove the wrong way on Auckland's northwestern motorway this morning.

A team of "exceptionally gutsy" schoolgirl cyclists have won silver medals in a national competition less than three weeks after they were injured in a road smash.

One person died and five others were injured in crashes across the country over the weekend.

A car slid 80m before smashing into two cars that had already crashed on a busy highway yesterday, leaving one passenger dead and three others injured.

A new twin-engined air force helicopter will need all its rotors repaired or replaced, at a cost of millions of dollars, after being hit by lightning.

The family of missing Canadian tourist Connor Hayes are coming to NZ next week and hope to hold a memorial in the small South Island town where he was last seen alive.

A man received life-threatening back and head injuries after falling from a deck in Auckland last night.

A man died in the Far North after he climbed a power pole and touched wires connected to a 11,000 volt transformer following a fight with his girlfriend.

Last year, almost 1000 Kiwis died suddenly at the hands of others, in crashes or through suicide.

A Nelson father of four who died after being swept off his yacht had 25 years' experience on the water, his friends say.

Well-wishers have donated nearly $25k to help two girls whose mother was killed in a drink-drive smash, but the money is untouched because of a family row.

A woman almost killed when she was dragged 60m behind a vehicle in South Auckland was not the victim of a hit-and-run as first suspected.

A two-year-old boy has died in a farm accident inland from Gisborne after falling from a utility vehicle.

One person was seriously injured when a ute and a milk tanker crashed in the Bay of Plenty this morning.

A power cut in Upper Hutt tonight was caused by a car travelling at excessive speed and then crashing in Henry Street, police say.

A man who broke his back in three places in a car accident had to battle ACC three times over 12 years to get compensation and he's still waiting.

A 14-year-old boy who died after the 4-wheel-drive vehicle he was in rolled was one of four people killed in crashes over the weekend.

A schoolboy has suffered a horror eye injury after being splashed in the face with acid during a science experiment.

There's not much that's good about tumbling 5m down a blowhole and breaking your pelvis in three places.