A Chinese student who died in a Boxing Day smash in Southland has been named by police as the holiday road toll rises to seven.

Three stricken boaties spent up to two hours treading water after their 5m vessel was swamped by a freak wave while crossing the treacherous Manukau Harbour bar, killing two other crew members.

A young Auckland man is facing charges after he allegedly drove through a stop sign and hit a police car, causing a pile-up that wrote off three vehicles in Gisborne.

Motorists have been urged to take extra care on the roads after a man died and three others were critically injured in a crash in the Bay of Plenty this morning.

An elderly couple remain in a serious condition in Tauranga Hospital, following a crash in the Bay of Plenty yesterday.

A man has died and two others have been seriously injured in the first fatal crash of New Zealand's Christmas and New Year road toll period.

The two children killed in a Northland crash which also killed two men were high achievers who often won awards.

Police are urging care on the roads over the holidays as a four-car crash leaves one person critically injured.

Driver of a 44-tonne logging truck was powerless to prevent a collision that killed four people and left a boy, 8, fighting for his life.

A baby was feared to be among the victims as six people died and eight were injured when a rubbish truck careered out of control and into crowds of Christmas shoppers.

Two people were cut from their vehicle following a crash in Otago last night.

Police are putting their traffic enforcement focus on holiday black spots to keep the annual road toll from surging above 300 deaths.

Gisborne harbourmaster Captain Charlie Jamieson has been killed while riding his motorcycle on the East Cape highway at Waihau Bay near Cape Runaway.

The family of a cyclist left a quadriplegic after riding into a sinkhole are considering legal action over a report into the horrific incident.

Every day before work Auckland dad Danny Mafi drives to his baby daughter's grave to "see her and to say a prayer".

A motorist drove a car into a policeman at a roadside checkpoint, leaving the officer with injuries to his legs, face and arms.

Police have interviewed a woman who allegedly hit a young girl crossing a West Auckland road this morning.

A trailer of a truck has tipped south of Dannevirke this morning, blocking part of State Highway 2 north of Woodville.

An 8-year-old boy remains in a critical condition in Waikato Hospital after a four-vehicle crash yesterday.

An illegal migrant who hid under a truck travelling from France has been killed trying to disembark while the vehicle was stationary on the M25.

One person is dead after a car went through a fence on Alfriston Road, South Auckland.

A 7-year-old boy died after being hit by a vehicle driven by his father, who couldn't see he was behind the ute because of a blind spot as he reversed down a driveway, a coroner has found.

An off-duty postie and an injured engineer held an elderly woman's head above water as she sat trapped in her car which had rolled down a bank and plunged into a stream.

School principal Banapa Avatea's quick thinking and decisive actions averted disaster in peak-hour traffic between Auckland and Waikato.

One person died and another was trapped in a two-car crash in Northland this afternoon.

A woman was saved from her car after crashing through a tree, down a bank and into a stream.