A woman who died when she was hit by a train today near Ashburton had been the subject of a police pursuit earlier this morning.

A man whose son drowned when his ute rolled into a pond on the West Coast was suffering from a terminal brain tumour he did not know about at the time, a family friend says.

Four overturned trucks in just over a week have brought a warning to drivers to watch their speed, loads and fatigue levels.

A drunk driver was suffocated between his car door and roof after swerving onto the wrong side of the road to hit a “ferret”, evidence given to a coroner says.

An 18-year-old man charged over a deadly hit-and-run on Saturday night has been granted bail.

A man has died in a two-car collision between a van and vehicle on State Highway 1 in Northland.

A person has been rushed to hospital in a critical condition after being trapped in their car in central Auckland.

A car that crashed in Auckland early today was jammed with nine teenagers, including one in the boot. Police believed the teenagers were heading from a party on the Shore to the city.