Nine people have been injured after a car allegedly made a main highway U-turn in front of a rental van near Reporoa.
Police say the crash was caused by a combination of alcohol and speed and police were last night still looking for the driver responsible.
Emergency services from Taupo, Reporoa and Rotorua were called to State Highway 5 at Reporoa, south of the intersection with Homestead Rd, just after 5pm today where there had been a collision between a car and a van.
When The Daily Post arrived at the scene, a black Nissan Skyline was in the middle of the road with the driver's door caved in.
The steering wheel was sitting almost in the centre of the dashboard and the windscreen was shattered. The bumper had been carried to the side of the road.
A white Toyota rental van with an Auckland number written on the side was sitting on the side of the road, with damage to the front of the vehicle.
Bits of the cars and were strewn all over the road and police officers had to direct traffic around the scene.
Bay of Plenty road policing manager Inspector Kevin Taylor said from what the police knew, the Nissan had made a U-turn in front of the rental van, although this couldn't be confirmed.
Mr Taylor said the driver of the Nissan had left in another car before police arrived at the scene.
It is understood the police are still looking for him.
"The driver is going to have a very sore hip or leg and he's going to be needing some sort of medical attention at some stage."
St John Taupo operations team manager Graeme Harvey said they had assessed nine patients who were all in the van at the time of the crash.
He said they were assessed for minor to moderate injuries ranging from painful necks to minor abrasions.
Mr Harvey said all nine of the people in the van were transported in three ambulances, one each from Taupo, Reporoa and Rotorua, to Rotorua Hospital.
The accident comes less than a week after a fatal crash in Reporoa. Taupo teenager Annalese Bacon, 17, died after the car she was travelling in rolled in Plateau Rd near Reporoa on Friday.
Police say alcohol, speed and failing to wear seatbelts were factors in that crash.
6.31pm story: Nine people have suffered minor to moderate injuries in a collision between a car and a van south of Rotorua.
Police say it appeared the car had done a uturn before colliding with a van about 5pm, near the intersection of State Highway 5 and Hometead Rd, near Reporoa.
Nine people who were in the van were injured and were being taken to Rotorua Hospital.
Police say the driver of the car left the area in another car before emergency services arrived and it was likely he would be needing medical attention.