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.

The Taranaki Outdoor Pursuits Centre has escaped a fine for the tragedy on Paritutu Rock last year, but will still pay out $72,000 in reparations to families of victims and survivors.

The driver of a luxury car that crashed on Auckland's Tamaki Drive will face charges over the accident.

Three parachutists made a desperate bid to exit a blazing aircraft seconds before it plunged into a field in southern Belgium, killing 11 people.

The number of fatal truck crashes has dropped over the past decade, from a peak of 81 in 2004 to 46 last year, a decrease the New Zealand Transport Agency is celebrating.

A late-model Aston Martin worth as much as $330,000 did not look so luxurious after crashing into a lamp post on Auckland's waterfront early yesterday.

One person is dead and nine vehicles are damaged after a van collided with a truck and trailer unit in south Waikato this afternoon.

Three Boston University students who died after a car crash near Taupo would likely have survived were they wearing seatbelts, a coroner has found.

Statistics NZ data shows fewer ACC claims but union believes they are misleading.

Almost 7000 people will injure themselves this week - and nearly all of these will be the result of sport or other recreational activities.

Expert crash investigators will go head-to-head this week, arguing in court whether a taxi driver is guilty of careless driving causing the death of his unborn baby.

Trainee journalist Zac Fleming was on his way to work at the Herald on Sunday when he almost became the latest car fatality. He tells his story.

An expectant mum who miscarried after a car crash in Auckland is furious the driver at fault escaped with what she sees as only a slap on the wrist.

It was a horrifying scene involving a terrified woman trapped on a railway line in a wheelchair - but two strangers didn't think twice when it came to helping her.

A family still grieving over three youngsters killed in a horrific crash six months ago are again in mourning after another relative died when her car hit a power pole.

Papakura is Auckland's most dangerous suburb when it comes to injuries, while Howick is the region's safest spot.

The grandfather of a Hastings preschooler killed in a tragic mower accident says he is devastated by the death.

A "terrible accident" that resulted in the death of a 4-year-old boy has left a veteran council tractor driver traumatised and distraught.

The driver of a council tractor-mower is 'very shaken up' after he hit and killed a 4-year-old described by his gran as 'full of joy and bounce.'

A 4-year-old boy has died after he was run over by a council tractor mower in a Hastings park this evening.