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.

A lawyer has won a three-year battle against ACC, which claimed pain she suffered after a car crash was from degeneration and not a neck injury.

Fifteen-year-old Brigitte Allan watched helplessly as her older sister and fellow cyclist Maggie collided with a van during a training ride, followed by four of their friends.

'I've got bruises like tyre marks up my leg," says Guy Speedy, vibrant and laughing just two days after being run over by his own tractor.

Five schoolgirl cyclists injured in a collision with a van north of Hamilton yesterday are at home recovering.

Five top schoolgirl cyclists and their coach, hurt when a car collided with them on a rural Waikato road, have now been discharged from hospital.

An elderly farmer who was run over by his own tractor is a "tough old coot" who is already back to his "cheeky self" after surgery, his family say.

Terrified school children screamed and cried as their bus collided with a car, its windscreen shattered and it began to fill with smoke.

A photographer killed when he was struck by steam train may have thought the engine was further away because his perception had been skewed by his camera, a friend says.

It was truly miraculous that a series of accidents involving some 130 cars on a fog-shrouded bridge in Kent did not result in deaths, British police said.

As Father's Days go, Robyn Cameron cannot remember one more low-key, or more precious.

Thousands of New Zealand cars have such poor rear visibility that drivers cannot see a small child unless the kid is standing more than 10m away from the vehicle.

A man is dead after being hit by a stream train while trying to photograph it yesterday. The taken to Greymouth Base Hospital with serious head injuries after the accident.

A member of a rugby team is being hailed as a heroine after she saved the life of a man seriously injured in one of three crashes that caused chaos on State Highway 1 yesterday.

Hugh Foster faces an eight-week hospital stay after two alleged bank robbers in a stolen car smashed into the back of his ute on the Southern Motorway.

Sitting next to his dead colleague as their work van started filling with water after plunging off a bridge, Ashley Donkersley thought he was going to die.

A motorist temporarily blinded by sun-strike crashed into the back of a slow moving truck and trailer unit today, leaving him with spinal injuries and lacerations.