An horrific head-on crash involving a campervan, a truck and trailer and a ute claimed the lives of two Spanish tourists, badly injured a toddler, and brought chaos to Northland's roads.
The crash happened at about 10.40am yesterday on State Highway One, 4km north of Towai.
The Spanish couple, aged in their 30s, had been heading north in a rented Hiace campervan. It is believed they died instantly in the crash. A four-wheel-drive Mazda ute following the campervan struck the truck's trailer as it jack-knifed across the road.
The driver of the ute and her two-year-old son, who was strapped into a child seat, were taken to Bay of Islands Hospital in Kawakawa, then airlifted to Whangarei Hospital by rescue helicopter.
The 30-year-old woman suffered bruising, but the toddler, who received a gash to the head, was in a serious condition in the intensive care unit late yesterday.
The truck driver was uninjured.
Paihia police Sergeant Peter Masters, who was in charge of the scene near the Callaghan Rd turnoff to Maromaku, said it was too early to say what had caused the smash.
Police had spoken to several witnesses, including the truck driver, and specialists from the Serious Crash and Commercial Vehicle units were investigating.
"Obviously this has caused huge disruption."
State Highway One was closed between Kawakawa and the Towai service station - a distance of almost 20km - while light traffic was diverted via rural roads including winding, unsealed Ruapekapeka Rd.
Trucks and campervans had to wait until crash investigators had finished surveying the scene and mapping out the truck's 100m skidmarks.
By the time the road re-opened briefly at about 2pm, more than 40 trucks and two passenger buses were waiting to get through from the south, with another 20 backed up to the north.
Paid firefighters from Whangarei and volunteers from Kawakawa worked side-by-side to remove the bodies from the campervan, after which iwi liaison officer Willy More blessed the scene and firefighting veteran Colin Kitchen praised their efforts.
"I can't emphasise enough what a great job they do. This was especially stressful, with two deaths and an injured baby just before Christmas, when they'd rather be spending time with their families."
The truck, operated by Linfox Logistics in Manukau City, ended up in a ditch while its trailer was jack-knifed across the northbound lane.
The highway was fully re-opened once the truck was removed at about 3.30pm.
Yesterday's crash bumps Northland's road toll this year up to 34, an ominous start to the busy summer season.
Mr Masters urged people to drive defensively, "because you never know what's coming around the bend, or when you're going to have a sudden blowout".
At the crash scene yesterday was the Far North's top cop, Inspector Chris Schahill. "Two people lost their lives today as a result of this crash ... Please take care on the roads over the Christmas holiday period. We don't want any more lives lost," he said.
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