By JO-MARIE BROWN and NZPA
Eight people are dead and several others, including a 6-month-old baby, were in a critical condition last night after a disastrous weekend on the roads.
wo of the fatalities occurred in Auckland.
The first was on Friday night, when a 50-year-old man died after his car veered off
Birdwood Rd near Massey and landed in a ditch.
The man had not been publicly identified early today.
The second occurred early on Saturday, when an 11-year-old boy died when the car he was in rolled and crashed into a bus shelter in Preston Rd, Otara.
Police spokesman Inspector Barry Smaley said the 43-year-old driver suffered serious injuries and was taken to Middlemore Hospital.
A 6-month-old child in the car was taken to the Starship hospital and was in a critical condition last night.
A hospital spokeswoman said a third child, aged 2 1/2, was also treated for minor injuries before being discharged.
The life of an Auckland pedestrian hangs in the balance after a car hit her outside the Mt Albert Pak'N Save on New North Rd at 10.30 pm on Saturday.
The woman was in a critical condition in Auckland Hospital last night.
Mr Smaley was baffled by the Auckland fatalities.
He said that neither bad weather nor poor driving conditions could be blamed.
The deaths were a sad reminder that all drivers needed to be extremely careful on the roads, he said.
In other accidents, Kerry Ann Ward, 53, died instantly when she lost control of her car down a steep road in Cashmere on the Port Hills above Christchurch and crashed into a house on Friday night.
She was alone in the vehicle.
Two men died on State Highway 73 just outside Christchurch on Friday when two cars collided at high speed.
They were Damon John Greenwood, 23, and Andrew William Pratt, 24.
A woman died on Friday in a collision between a truck and a car at an intersection near Cromwell.
She was Janet Louise Soper, 67.
At 3.30 am on Saturday, Craig Mark Nicholson, 22, of Feilding, died instantly when his car and another collided on a road 5km northeast of Foxton.
Police said Mr Nicholson's car left the road, hit a tree and burst into flames.
Speed and alcohol were said to be factors in the crash.
Early reports indicated that the two cars touched while drag racing.
A teenager died yesterday in a two-vehicle crash on a rural road on the outskirts on Palmerston North.
Police said the driver of a car headed for Palmerston North from Feilding lost control on a moderate corner and slid into a van hauling a trailer.
The 16-year-old who died was a backseat passenger and police said they believed he was not wearing a seatbelt.
He was from Palmerston North.
The driver and three other passengers in the car suffered minor to moderate injuries.
The driver of the van was not injured.
Senior Sergeant Nick Dobson said he believed that speed and alcohol could be aggravating factors in the 12.30 pm crash, and he expected that charges would be laid.
In the first two-thirds of this year, 303 people died on the roads compared with 351 in the same period last year.
The toll in the 12 months to August 31 was 461. The worst year for road deaths was 1973, when 843 died.
Eight die in weekend of carnage on roads
By JO-MARIE BROWN and NZPA
Eight people are dead and several others, including a 6-month-old baby, were in a critical condition last night after a disastrous weekend on the roads.
wo of the fatalities occurred in Auckland.
The first was on Friday night, when a 50-year-old man died after his car veered off
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