A truck driver thought he'd killed a motorcyclist when he lost control on a Canterbury bridge this morning, sending the rider plummeting into the freezing river below.

It's four years to the day since 62-year-old cyclist Dr Graham Robinson was killed in hit-and-run, and police have launched a new appeal for help.

Expert crash investigators will go head-to-head this week, arguing in court whether a taxi driver is guilty of careless driving causing the death of his unborn baby.

Trainee journalist Zac Fleming was on his way to work at the Herald on Sunday when he almost became the latest car fatality. He tells his story.

An expectant mum who miscarried after a car crash in Auckland is furious the driver at fault escaped with what she sees as only a slap on the wrist.

A serious motorbike crash has closed State Highway One in North Canterbury this afternoon.

The NZ Transport Agency is planning to reopen two westbound lanes of Auckland's Northwestern Motorway (State Highway 16) at 10.30am today.

A family still grieving over three youngsters killed in a horrific crash six months ago are again in mourning after another relative died when her car hit a power pole.

One person was killed after two cars collided in Whangarei this morning. It was the third fatal crash of the day after two people died in crashes in Warkworth and Otara earlier this morning.

A woman, critically injured when a cattle truck rolled and crushed a car north of Wellsford yesterday, is now in a serious but stable condition, a spokesman for Auckland City Hospital says.

A person has been critically injured after a truck carrying livestock rolled on their car north of Wellsford late this afternoon.

It's only 20 kilometres long and three kilometres wide, but two cars on Matakana Island managed to crash into each other early this morning.

A woman killed in an early morning crash which also left three others injured may have been driving under 50km/h, police said.

A coroner has slammed police's attempts to locate a troubled teenager who ran away from foster care before being killed in a car crash.

A car ended up on its side after crashing into a pedestrian crossing pole in Upper Hutt this afternoon - after the driver tried to fend off a bee.

Police were en route to intercept a car driving the wrong way on Auckland's northwestern motorway this morning before the vehicle collided with another car.

A coroner finds the death of a toddler accidentally run over by his father highlights the "inherent risks" associated with children playing in areas used by vehicles.

A woman has died after being hit by a vehicle in the Auckland suburb of New Lynn last night.

Two children were injured in a head-on crash after a car drove the wrong way on Auckland's northwestern motorway this morning.

KiwiRail has ruled out installing a barrier on a rail level crossing near Auckland where a woman and three girls were injured after their car collided with a train this morning.

One person died and five others were injured in crashes across the country over the weekend.

A car slid 80m before smashing into two cars that had already crashed on a busy highway yesterday, leaving one passenger dead and three others injured.

Who in our picture should always ride in a booster seat? According to new laws due in four weeks, just a couple of them.

Alcohol is thought to have been a factor in this morning's crash that injured eight people and blocked the main route to Auckland airport for hours.