The number of people killed in a fiery crash in Manawatu early today is still unclear due to the destruction of the wreckage.

Police have released the name of the cyclist killed in a collision with a truck at the intersection of Stanley St and Parnell Rise, Auckland yesterday afternoon.

Bystanders were powerless to save a cyclist at one of Auckland's busiest intersections as police reveal the truckie had a green light and was unaware he'd hit the rider.

A truck driver did not know a cyclist had gone under the wheels of his truck until he was alerted by other motorists some 70 metres away, police say.

A weed-spraying truck has crashed in Waikato, dumping up to 3000 litres of weed killer into a stream.

Police are amazed a head-on collision between two trucks - one carrying hazardous materials - didn't end up being a lot more serious.

A man who died when his motorcycle and a car collided in Waikato at the weekend was part of a larger group returning to Auckland from a tour of the South Island.

A woman was seriously injured in a crash near Taupo this morning.

A woman has died after the car she was driving collided with a tree in west Auckland this morning.

The number of road deaths over the Christmas-New Year holiday period edged one higher than last year following a motorcyclist death yesterday afternoon.

Eight family members, including a six-month-old boy and two young girls, were injured in a horror van crash today after the driver is believed to have fallen asleep.

A man has handed himself in after a crash left live power lines dangling over the rear entrance of the Huntly Fire Station.

The number of people killed on our roads this year is the lowest since 1950, down 17 per cent on the previous year.

A motorcyclist has died just off State Highway 1 north of Bulls this morning, taking the holiday road toll to six.

A mother trapped in a rolled van was asking rescuers about her baby daughter as she slipped in and out of consciousness. The 11-month-old girl died hours later.

As holiday revellers take to the roads today, police are warning motorists to take their time, be patient and steer clear of the booze.

Travellers are being urged to avoid the east coast of the Coromandel as heavy rain has brought flooding to many coastal communities, police say.

Police are urging holiday motorists to slow down following the second serious speed-related crash in Waikato in as many days.

An out of control car turned off a straight road, drove down some brick steps, through a barrier and into a Havelock North hairdressing salon.

A taxi driver feels lucky to have escaped death after his car was swept away by the swollen Silver Stream near Dunedin.

Two people have been seriously injured in two separate crashes in Auckland early today.

A drunk driver who fled the scene of an early morning crash in Waikato could be seriously injured and police are "seriously concerned" about his whereabouts.

Police are calling on motorists to take extra care over the holiday period, following a weekend that saw two people killed, several seriously injured, and two others rescued from a car hanging in a tree.

Two people had to be rescued from a vehicle that was left hanging sideways from a tree down a sheer bank after it crashed off a rural Coromandel road yesterday afternoon.

Two people were seriously injured when a car rolled on Masters Road in Waiuku last night. Three fire appliances attended the crash.