Driver charged after deaths

Emergency services blocked part of State Highway 10 south of Kerikeri after the crash that claimed two lives.

The driver of a vehicle involved in a double fatality in Northland has been charged with causing the deaths and will appear in court this morning.

Whangarei police confirmed the 66-year-old, believed to be an American citizen, is facing two charges of careless driving causing death and one of careless driving causing injury.

Two people were killed and four others injured in the two-car crash on State Highway 10, about 150m south of the Puketona Rd junction, south of Kerikeri, at about 6pm on Saturday.

Of the four people in one car, two died at the scene while another two suffered injuries which were not life-threatening. Two others in the second car also received injuries that were not life-threatening.

An adult and a child were airlifted to Whangarei Hospital in a stable condition.

Police, including the Serious Crash Unit, fire appliances, St John paramedics and Northland Rescue Helicopter were at the scene shortly after the crash.

The highway was closed off for more than two hours. Diversions were in place on SH1 and SH10 for northbound traffic.

Acting Senior Sergeant Stephanie Hudson yesterday confirmed the 66-year-old driver had been charged and would appear in the Kaikohe District Court today. He has been released on bail.

At edition time, the police had not released the names of the two people who died.

The co-owner of Bay of Islands Country Lodge Motel, opposite the intersection of SH11 and SH12 at Puketona, said accidents had happened at the Puketona Rd junction over the years. Karen Lyman said the motel's fence had been wiped out four times in the past five years.

Northland's road death toll stands at 13 compared to six at the same time last year.