A CYF supervisor says an oversight meant a parental assessment was not carried out for a baby boy who was returned to his parents and allegedly drowned by his mother.

A police car and a truck collided in one of several serious incidents on North Island roads yesterday that left one person dead.

Two police officers were last night in hospital after their patrol car and a truck collided in one of several serious incidents on North Island roads yesterday that left one person dead.

A North Shore 18-year-old is lucky to be alive after falling multiple storeys from a carpark building during a night of drinking and taking Ecstasy.

A 63-year-old council contractor survived a 40m plunge down a sheer rock face from the peak of Mt Maunganui.

A businessman has told of his desperate attempts to save his badly injured wife after she drove off the road in bad weather.

The organisation behind the biggest-spending public servant says his $100 lunches were necessary.

Public servants have been told to cut back on expenses after some $875,000 was spent by chief executives between July 2008 and June 2010.

A man, believed to be wanted 32-year-old fugitive Daniel Vae, is one of two in custody after an armed police callout in the Auckland suburb of Glenfield today.

Two people have been charged with assault after a man was fatally struck by a car during a street brawl in south Auckland early this morning.

Five people were killed and two more are fighting for their lives after a string of road accidents yesterday.

A driver racing the wrong way down a major motorway last night smashed into six cars, leaving survivors who couldn't believe they were alive.