Police are still piecing together the tragic chain of events that led to the death of a 3-year-old boy in a crash near Kaeo.
The pile-up, about 4.45pm on Tuesday between Kaeo township and the Whangaroa bridge, involved three cars and a Fullers tour bus.
Firefighters and a doctor on board a
bus caught up in the chaos tried desperately to save the critically injured boy, but he died before he could be airlifted to Whangarei.
He was named yesterday as Harlan Batters-Ellis, of Kaeo.
His mother had to be cut from the wreckage and was taken to Whangarei by rescue helicopter.
Senior Constable Jim Hawthorn, of the police Serious Crash Unit, said he had visited the scene on Tuesday night and again during the day on Wednesday, and was still "putting the pieces of the jigsaw together".
However, he confirmed initial reports that the crash had started when a single car left the road and ended up down a bank.
One of the occupants had climbed up the bank, with the pile-up starting when other northbound cars slowed down to help.
The vehicle that had suffered the most damage had clipped the back of a ute, spun anti-clockwise into the front of the south-bound bus, then spun clockwise and hit the bus on its side midway between the axles before finally ending up down the bank.
The ute also came to rest in the ditch but its occupants suffered only minor injuries. No one on the bus was hurt. It was returning from a trip to Cape Reinga and Ninety Mile Beach with a small number of tourists on board.
Mr Hawthorn said alcohol had been ruled out as a cause and speed appeared unlikely to be a factor. He was now looking at other factors.
