A drunken crash shattered George Cairney's life, leaving him with a loss of sight, taste, hearing and smell, and no memory of a year either side of the crash.

Emergency services are at the scene of a two-car crash on Auckland's Southern Motorway.

When the Christmas-New Year period ended for accident statistics on Tuesday morning, 12 more people had died on the roads.

Sheep were hurled from a stock truck which rolled on a central North Island highway this afternoon.

Emergency services were called to a two-car crash on State Highway 1 near Huntly about 12.45pm this afternoon.

A drink driver who fled police, sparking a chase which left a power pole damaged, now faces being charged the cost to replace it.

There have been numerous crashes throughout the North Island today as wind and heavy rains lash the country.

The motorcyclist who lost both legs in a crash with a truck remains critically unwell in Auckland City Hospital.

A motorcyclist involved in crash with a truck in Taranaki this afternoon has died.

Four people were injured, including four whom rescuers found lying on the road, after a van collided with a farm tractor on a public road last night.

An arterial route linking motorists to the East Coast of the North Island has been closed, reportedly causing traffic chaos.

A Greymouth businessman helped with translation and fed victims of the Otira bus crash last week.

Yasmine Lees watched as a bus carrying over 30 people lost control on the road and collided with another vehicle.

A light truck lost control and rolled on its side before colliding head-on with a car on Kahikatea Flat Road, near Dairy Flat.

It appeared a car had hit the male pedestrian, Southern District Command Centre Senior Sergeant Brian Benn said.

One person has died and five are injured after a multiple vehicle crash near Rotorua, the latest in more than 1600 crashes over the holidays.

A young man who died in a crash between a car and a ute over the holidays had a "smile to define the word cheesy", and "endless love and kindness for anyone who needed it".

An 18-year-old Aucklander who loved sport and kapa haka is the youngest victim of the holiday road toll.

The holiday road toll has risen to ten following a two-vehicle crash in the Hawkes Bay tonight where one person died.

Crashes around North Island roads have kept emergency crews busy overnight and this morning.

The single-car crash happened on State Highway 35, near Tologa Bay.

A man who suffered serious head injuries in a three-car crash near Opotiki remains in a critical condition in Tauranga Hospital.

Several car crashes have caused road closures in parts of the country this afternoon. In Nelson one person died and two were injured when a light van crashed.

Packed tourist bus skidded to a halt just shy of cliff edge after horror crash near Arthur's Pass.

Twelve people remain in hospital after a car and tourist bus collided in the Otira Gorge near Arthurs Pass yesterday.

One person is dead and two injured after a car crash near Motueka early this morning. Police say speed was possibly the cause of the crash.

Motorists are being urged not to let the festive season impair their judgment when travelling on the roads today.

A teenager is in a serious but stable condition after her car was hit by a ute and spun into a station wagon near Paihia yesterday.

A young driver who crashed into a truck carrying stock feed might have been blinded by dust on the rural road, police say.

The motorcyclist who died after hitting a fence yesterday afternoon was riding with a group that included his family and friends.