Police have ruled out foul play in the case of a young Christchurch mum who died after falling from a moving vehicle.

Motorists driving over the Kaimai Ranges in Bay of Plenty are being urged to take extra care this morning, after a large amount of diesel spilled onto the road.

Police believe alcohol may be a factor in a crash which killed a 73-year-old woman in Northland last night.

Five members of a Lake Hawea family were considered lucky to be alive last night after a runaway people mover crashed into their lounge.

An 11-year-old boy who ran 6km in the dark to get help for his dad after a car crash will be protected from reading a coroner's comments that praise his heroic actions.

A woman who died after being hit by two vehicles in Wanganui on Friday night would have celebrated her 27th birthday today.

The wreckage of a car crash that killed 18-year-old Oliver Steven Mills lay unnoticed for up to nine hours in a water-filled ditch early yesterday morning.

A crash on Auckland's Southern Motorway has killed a man and caused chaos for commuters.

A horrific car accident killed Richard Todd's wife and left both his daughters injured - one so severely doctors warned him she may never recover.

The driver of a van which rolled four times, killing three US tourists, screamed "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry" as the vehicle flipped, an inquest has heard.

Three American students killed when their van rolled near Turangi last year could be alive today if they had been wearing seatbelts, an inquest has heard.

A year after the Turangi crash that killed three US students, its most scarred survivor remains determined to return to thank those who saved her life.

Mandatory wearing of high-visibility clothing for cyclists would not reduce the death toll, an expert told a coroner today.

Police have named a Timaru man who was crushed to death by his car while trying to remove the oil filter.

A 27-year-old woman is fighting for her life in Christchurch Hospital after falling from a moving vehicle early this morning.

A man has been hospitalised with suspected spinal injuries after rolling his vehicle when swerving to avoid a dog.

Charlotte Christie fears driving along the winding Gisborne-to-Wairoa road after writing off her car in a pile-up on a blind bend in which another motorist lost an arm.

The trial of a man over the death of Timaru businessman Allan Hubbard in a car crash has been adjourned until July 19.

A truck and trailer rolled in Waikato overnight but the driver was not injured.

The mother of a 12-year-old boy hit by a car as he walked home from school is being chased for damages by the driver's insurance company.

Allan Hubbard died in a head-on car crash caused by his elderly wife, not by the other driver accused of careless driving causing his death, a court has been told.

A Kawakawa man is lucky to be alive after a spectacular crash in which his ute shot off a bridge, Dukes of Hazzard style, and landed on the far side of a river.

For the first time since records began there has not been a single road death during the Queen's Birthday weekend, and police say it is a "very positive" result.

Police were tonight hoping for the first-ever Queen's Birthday weekend without a single road death.

Police are urging motorists to drive to the conditions after a fatality-free start to Queen's Birthday Weekend.