Three women injured in highway crash on the Brynderwyns

A young boy, understood to be the girl's twin, was uninjured, but flown to Whangarei Hospital as a precaution. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Three women in a car heading south on State Highway 1 suffered moderate injuries when they were involved in a head-on collision with an elderly driver, on the south side of the Brynderwyns.

Whangarei police communications manager Sarah Kennett said the crash happened near the intersection with State Highway 12 at 12.45pm yesterday.

Police, firefighters and St John Ambulance attended and traffic was not affected, Ms Kennett said.

The elderly man was not carrying any passengers and suffered only minor injuries from the collision.

The women were treated at the scene by St John paramedics and taken to Whangarei Hospital by ambulance.

Meanwhile, a 5-year-old Bay of Islands girl who suffered severe head injuries in a head-on crash near Russell on Wednesday was late yesterday still in a critical condition in the paediatric intensive care unit of Auckland's Starship Hospital.

The girl was injured when a Mitsubishi Lancer being driven by a man in his 30s, understood to be her father, was involved in a head-on collision with a Nissan Navara ute on the Russell-Whakapara road.

The driver suffered broken legs and had to be cut out of the wreckage. A young boy, understood to be the girl's twin, was uninjured, but flown to Whangarei Hospital as a precaution.

The driver of the ute, a Russell man in his 50s, suffered moderate injuries.

The police Serious Crash Unit is investigating the crash.

The unit is also investigating a single-vehicle accident on Otiria Rd, west of Moerewa, on Wednesday, in which police say the male driver lost control at a bend and rolled.

His female passenger, thought to be in her late teens or early 20s, was thrown from the car and landed in a ditch, leaving her with serious injuries. The driver was uninjured.