Two killed, two injured in head-on car crash near Kerikeri, Northland
Tuesday, 3 April 2018
The two men who died in a crash in Northland were locals.
A 24-year-old from Kerikeri and 26-year-old from Kamo died at the scene. Two other men who were also in the vehicle were uninjured on Monday night.
Northland road policing manager inspector Wayne Ewers said a vehicle travelling north on SH10 is believed to have crossed the centre line and collided with a south bound vehicle.
'A police officer was travelling on SH10 came across the accident and immediately commenced CPR on the deceased driver but he was unable to revive him.'
Ewers said emergency services tried to save the passenger but he died while still at the scene.
A 22-year-old was arrested and has since been bailed to appear in the Kaikohe District Court.
The two deaths increased the road toll for the official Easter holiday period - which started at 4pm on Thursday and ends at 6am on Tuesday - to six, three times the 2017 official toll of 2.
Police and other emergency services were at the scene of the Northland crash, which was reported at 11.19pm on State Highway 10 about 1km south of Wakelins Road, approximately 7km south of Kerikeri.
Police initially announced one person had died and another had serious injuries at 12.25am, before updating to two deaths - the driver and passenger of the same vehicle - at 2.25am.
READ MORE: Four people die on NZ roads during long weekend
The two occupants of the other car were taken to Bay of Islands Hospital with lesser injuries.
The Serious Crash Unit is examining the scene and SH10 was closed with diversions in place. Diversions were via SH10, Te Ahu Ahu Rd, Waimate North Rd, and Wiroa Rd, back to SH10.
Meanwhile, one person died on Saturday after a crash in the Bay of Plenty.
Emergency services were called to the scene of the crash at the intersection of Edmund and Clayton roads in Rotorua.
Police were notified of the crash, which occurred between a truck and a motorcycle, around 11.20am, according to a police media statement.
CHILDREN DIE IN CRASH
Several crashes also occurred on Good Friday that claimed the lives of three people, including two young children, as well as injuring others.
At around 11am a person was killed in a crash between Taupō and Tokoroa.
The Desert Rd was closed on Friday afternoon after a truck and car collided leaving two young children dead and several others injured.
Arteen Mosaferi, four, died at the scene of the crash. His two-month-old brother Radeen died at Starship Hospital on Sunday from injuries sustained in the accident.
Their mother, Dr Mohadeseh Sharifi, a scientist for AgResearch, was in a critical condition at Waikato Hospital. She did not know that her two children were dead.
Their father suffered moderate injuries in the crash.
Earlier, two children and two adults were shunted off the road into a power pole when a truck smashed into their vehicle near Matamata at 9.45am.
And four people, including two who were trapped, were injured in a crash near Nelson on the same day.
DEATHS DEVASTATE COMMUNITY
Siamak Mosaferi would watch his eldest son Arteen closely as the boy played on their quiet Hamilton cul-de-sac.
The four-year-old, who first laid eyes on his baby brother earlier this year, was always outside riding his bike and his dad was always there watching him, making sure he never rode past the end of the driveway.
It was a common sight for neighbours on Teatree Close in Huntington, a sight that would never be played out again.
On Good Friday the preschooler with bright brown eyes and a cheeky grin and his only sibling, two-month-old Radeen, were fatally injured when the vehicle they were in collided with another car and two trucks on the Desert Rd near Waiouru.
Neighbours of the family are reeling after the deaths.
One neighbour, Edward Scott, said the last time he saw the tight-knit family was on Thursday.
'It's horrible, they are a really nice family,' Scott said from his driveway on Monday afternoon. 'We used to see them every morning.
'My wife saw the family on Wednesday, and then on Thursday we saw them packing up the car for their holiday.
'You never think anything like this would happen.'
DEADLY YEAR ON ROADS
Three people were killed on the roads during the 2017 long weekend but the official road toll is two, as one of the roads was closed to the public at the time.
According to the New Zealand Transport Agency's road death statistics, 103 people have died between January and March this year compared to 86 for the same time last year.