Fatal crash car caught on camera

The double fatal accident on State Highway 1, 2km north of Huntly. Photo / Christine Cornege

A motorist filmed a car driving on the wrong side of a busy stretch of road moments before it collided with another vehicle, killing two elderly women, police say.

The crash happened at about 10.45am today on the Waikato Expressway north of Huntly, where the north and southbound lanes are divided by a median barrier.

"There's two lanes south, two lanes north. You've got a wire rope which separates the two and they were completely on the wrong side of the road,'' said Waikato road policing manager Inspector Leo Tooman.

It appeared the women entered the southbound lanes at the Ohinewai Interchange and drove about 1.5km before their northbound car collided with an oncoming car.

Mr Tooman said police would analyse footage shot by another motorist, of the car travelling on the wrong side of the barrier moments before the crash.

The motorist had dropped the footage off at an Auckland police station, from where it would be forwarded to the investigation team.

Both women, who police said appeared to be in their 80s, died at the scene.

The single occupant of the other car, an Auckland man in his early 30s, was also badly injured.

He was taken to Waikato Hospital where he was in a stable condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Mr Tooman said while the dead women were yet to be formally identified they were believed to be locals and not overseas visitors.

"It appears today's tragedy was a case of driver inattention. With an anticipated increase in traffic flows over the next few weeks we want to reiterate the importance of keeping to the left at all times."

Road toll down for year

Ministry of Transport figures released earlier today place the number of road deaths for the year to date at 193, which is 66 fewer than this time last year.

There have been 179 fatal crashes this year, compared to 233 to date last year.

Fatalities over the last three years have steadily decreased, dropping from 278 on this day in 2009.

Records show drivers are the most common casualty type this year, and pedal cyclists the least.

The trend follows a 30-year low in May this year, when the road toll was the lowest recorded for that month since transport authorities began keeping annual figures in 1980.