Tonga's deputy prime minister is focused on getting the schoolchildren involved in a Christmas Eve bus tragedy in New Zealand home.

What's behind the horror on our roads? A look into the factors that are causing crashes.

A fatal crash in the Manawatu has brought the holiday road toll to eight this evening.

The 11-year-old boy who died in the Christmas Eve bus crash was "quiet, kind and smiley" his sister says.

Firefighters freed two people from a vehicle this afternoon after it rolled down a bank on State Highway 29 in the Lower Kaimais.

Her smile always made him happy, says the widower of Gisborne bus crash victim.

Tongan community mourns two visitors' deaths in bus crash after brakes failed to work, survivors say.

A Herald investigation reveals the most dangerous roads during the Christmas holiday period.

The two people killed in the Christmas Eve bus crash near Gisborne last night have been named, as the driver of the bus says the brakes failed.

One person has moderate to serious injuries after a car crash in rural South Canterbury this afternoon.

A crash that closed the Terrace Tunnel in Wellington has been cleared and the tunnel has re-opened, NZTA Wellington said.

Traffic is heavy and slow on Auckland's Southern Motorway as holidaymakers and commuters begin the crawl south to escape the city for Christmas.

A man is dead and a woman in hospital after a car rolled into a paddock north of Christchurch this morning.

A boy is in critical condition after being hit by a car in Whangarei this afternoon.

Twins needed CPR after being pulled from a pool in Sydney.

A man has been taken to hospital in serious condition with spinal and rib injuries after a paragliding crash in Queenstown.

A truck carrying a large amount of gravel rolled this afternoon on one of the main routes to Auckland Airport.

A truck driver is flown to hospital after a crash north of Auckland this morning.

Grandma mind the eggnog and little Timmy beware the shiny new skateboard, as Christmas Day is dangerous.

Helicopter crews used night-vision goggles to rescue a man who had a car crash in Waihi.

The families of a crash driver who killed two and injured two others are disgusted he has been released on parole.

Two people have been seriously injured after a head-on smash involving a car and a ute near Thames.

A Matamata pedestrian has had a miraculous escape from serious injury after being hit by a truck this morning.

Motorists should expect delays for the next two hours after two-truck crash injures two.

A man killed when a van and bus collided on a busy road on Auckland's North Shore has been described as a "gentle giant".

Michael Smith is suing Idol producers over an incident that happened as he was getting ready to perform for the judges on a taping of the program.

Power has been fully restored to more than 20,000 homes and businesses in Gisborne tonight, after a 33-hour outage.

A truck has rolled, blocking one lane of State Highway 7 - the temporary main road between Picton and Christchurch.

When authorities pulled up to a Ford parked outside a casino, they were drawn into the sort of tragic scene that has been playing out across the US.

Two people have been helicoptered to Auckland Hospital following a two-vehicle crash near Warkworth, north of Auckland, this afternoon.