There have been no fatal crashes in Northland during the official Christmas Holiday period but four people died near Uretiti two days before Christmas day.
The holiday road toll stands at seven this morning following a crash between a car and a truck on State Highway 1 between Amberley and Kaikoura in Canterbury last night.
Two people died following a collision between a car and a milk tanker in the Bay of Plenty on Sunday. The truck and a Volkswagen Golf collided near Paengaroa, at the intersection of State Highway 2 and Wilson Rd, leaving four people trapped in the car.
A 30-year-old man from Rotorua, who was the driver of the vehicle, died at the scene. Another Rotorua man, 31, suffered critical injuries in the crash and died at Waikato Hospital later that day. Two female passengers in the car remain in a critical condition. A third man suffered minor injuries.
On Boxing Day a man died after the rental car he was driving collided with another car in Tauranga, critically injuring an elderly couple from Omokoroa.
A 56-year-old motorcyclist died following a crash near Hurunui on Sunday morning.
The man was riding a Harley Davidson on State Highway 7, between Culverden and Hanmer Springs, when his machine and a car collided just before 11am, police said. He was flown to Christchurch Hospital by the Westpac Rescue helicopter but died shortly afterwards.
The death of a man who was electrocuted after a car crashed into a power pole on a rural road in Glentui on Saturday night is being provisionally included in the road toll figure.
The official holiday road period started at 4pm on Christmas Eve, and runs until 6am on Monday, January 5.
Last year's Christmas-New Year road toll was seven, but the official holiday period was three days shorter.
