The mother of a 12-year-old boy hit by a car as he walked home from school is being chased for damages by the driver's insurance company.

Allan Hubbard died in a head-on car crash caused by his elderly wife, not by the other driver accused of careless driving causing his death, a court has been told.

A mountain biker who plunged 9m to his death was not found until the next day after police decided to call off an area search, a coroner's finding has detailed.

For the first time since records began there has not been a single road death during the Queen's Birthday weekend, and police say it is a "very positive" result.

A survivor of a fire that gutted a Rotorua warehouse, killing teenage girl Mihinui Tamiana, tried to run back into the inferno to save her.

Police were tonight hoping for the first-ever Queen's Birthday weekend without a single road death.

A friend of a teen killed in a Rotorua fire claims the blaze was caused by a Molotov cocktail thrown into the building as partygoers slept.

A hunter has died after falling more than 10m onto rocks from a cable bridge near Hanmer Springs.

A fire that ripped through a factory, killing a schoolgirl, is believed to have been caused by a petrol generator bought just weeks ago by teenagers for parties there.

A motorcyclist has been blown off the road as strong winds hinder traffic in the South Island this morning.

Seven people have been injured in a three-car collision in Auckland this afternoon.

The mother of two teenage sisters killed in a Christmas Day 2011 crash near Tauranga says she has forgiven the man responsible for their deaths.

It was a messy start to the long weekend for thousands of Aucklanders yesterday when a car crash closed part of the Southern Motorway, just before the official Queen's Birthday holiday period began.

Five people have died in crashes on the country's roads already this week, as police brace for Queen's Birthday weekend - a notorious period for road fatalities.

The driver of a vehicle that crashed near Tauranga on Christmas Day 2011, killing two children, has been sentenced to seven years and six months in prison.

Maori elders blessed the scene of a fatal car crash in South Wairarapa this morning where the body of the 17-year-old crash victim lay covered on the road.

Police are urging motorists to drive to the conditions after three people died on New Zealand's roads within 11 hours in separate crashes.

Two trucks are blocking State Highway 4 in the central North Island following a crash this morning.

One man has died after a head-on crash between two trucks in the Bay of Islands this morning.

A truck was cut in half and debris scattered for 500 metres when it was hit by a train at a rail crossing in Ashburton this morning.

The number of injuries from horse accidents has risen, costing ACC more than $11 million in claims in one year.

The pair accused of bashing and abducting a man before stealing his car in the Kaimai Range - an event linked to the death of a Tauranga teen - will remain behind bars.

One motocross rider has died after colliding head-on at speed with another rider on a dark shingle road, after they had left a party in North Canterbury last night.

Whenever I see a white cross on the side of the road while I'm driving, it's a powerful reminder to take care.