A woman who died when she was hit by a train today near Ashburton had been the subject of a police pursuit earlier this morning.

A man whose son drowned when his ute rolled into a pond on the West Coast was suffering from a terminal brain tumour he did not know about at the time, a family friend says.

Four overturned trucks in just over a week have brought a warning to drivers to watch their speed, loads and fatigue levels.

Her body battered by the 4WD which knocked her from her bicycle, Sirpa Lajunen told herself she "had to live" as paramedics scrambled her to hospital.

An 18-year-old man charged over a deadly hit-and-run on Saturday night has been granted bail.

A man has died in a two-car collision between a van and vehicle on State Highway 1 in Northland.

A person has been rushed to hospital in a critical condition after being trapped in their car in central Auckland.

Search teams will be back out this morning looking for a fishing vessel which is missing off the coast of Fiordland.

ACC has been faulted for trying to limit the scope of independent assessments of an amputee's needs for help with transportation and housing modifications.

The fiancee of a Kiwi killed in a car crash in Saudi Arabia says despite his rugged exterior he was "the most kind, caring, generous person".

The Hillsborough soccer disaster - revealed this week as a cover-up by British authorities - changed forever the lives of fans who saw it. Geoff Cumming spoke to one Auckland witness.

Julie Ferne's final sacrifice was to protect her grandson, her family have told mourners at a service for a woman they described as loving, resilient, generous and kind.

More than 1000 family, friends, fellow mountain bikers and motocross riders farewelled Rotorua mountain biking legend James Dodds in Rotorua this afternoon.

The baby who was injured when his grandmother died after falling three storeys in Vietnam while carrying him is well enough for his father to return to New Zealand.

Dean Lonergan lying on Melbourne's Olympic Park turf - concussed and body twitching - is one of NZ sport's indelible images. We continue our Herald special report.

A friend of a 20-year-old New Zealander who died in a base jumping accident in Italy says he "left this world doing what he loved the most".

The Air Force was warned about risks being taken before a deadly Iroquois crash - now an inquiry will look at whether best practice was followed.