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 27-year-old woman has died from the injuries she sustained after falling from a moving vehicle.

The surgeon who sewed Nikki Campbell's head back together was able to use her tattoo to perfectly align the gash.

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.

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.

A Herald analysis of Transport Agency data collected from 67 districts has revealed the deadliest parts of the country in terms of personal risk to road users.

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.

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.

A motorcyclist has been blown off the road as strong winds hinder traffic in the South Island this morning.

Seven people have been injured in a three-car collision in Auckland this afternoon.

The mother of two teenage sisters killed in a Christmas Day 2011 crash near Tauranga says she has forgiven the man responsible for their deaths.

It was a messy start to the long weekend for thousands of Aucklanders yesterday when a car crash closed part of the Southern Motorway, just before the official Queen's Birthday holiday period began.

Five people have died in crashes on the country's roads already this week, as police brace for Queen's Birthday weekend - a notorious period for road fatalities.