Focus Morning Bulletin: Quadruple fatal, Capitol attacks and week of sunshine

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Quadruple fatal crash

A coroner has ruled a driver didn’t see a stop sign preceding a quadruple fatal crash in Ashburton in 2021.

A truck and a van collided when the van went through the intersection and into the truck’s path.

The truck driver says he didn’t have time to brake, and any possible sightings of the van were obscured by a large hedge.

The Ashburton District Council told coroner Marcus Elliot it considered the signage and markings at the intersection at the time of the crash to be compliant.

Advanced warning signs have been erected and the stop signs have since been replaced with larger ones.

Four people died in the Ashburton crash in 2021. Photo / George Heard

Auckland Airport scam

An online scam involving Auckland Airport has resurfaced.

The Facebook posts claim people can buy unclaimed luggage from the airport for $3 a bag.

Auckland Airport says similar posts emerged in October, and it reported the page.

It says people should check for a blue verification tick on social media to make sure they’re dealing with official accounts.

The airport says anyone concerned should go to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Scamwatch site to find out what to do next.

Arrests at Juicy Fest

The popular hip-hop and R&B festival Juicy Fest was marred by bad behaviour and violence during the weekend.

At the Wellington event on Friday, witnesses complained of gang members confronting one another and fighting.

One festivalgoer told our newsroom he was hit in the back of the head with a full beer can.

Meanwhile in Auckland on Saturday, three police officers were involved in minor assaults and 12 people were arrested.

Police say there were no incidents at the Tauranga version of the event yesterday.

A police officer was hit with a bottle and there were scenes of intoxication, disorder and assault involving people — including suspected gang members — outside the Juicy Fest music festival in Wellington.

Trump teases pardons

Three people have been arrested for their involvement in the US Capitol riots, three years on from the event.

CBS News is reporting the trio join more than 1200 defendants who have been charged with crimes surrounding the attack.

It comes as Donald Trump teases pardons for those he has dubbed the Jan 6 hostages, if he’s re-elected.

Trump has just released a bizarre social media ad on his platform Truth Social, claiming God put him on Earth to fix the US.

Trump’s 2024 campaign team is called the “war room”.

Week of sunshine

Fine, sunny conditions are forecast for most of New Zealand this week, of course, just as people start returning to work.

MetService says it should be settled in most places until at least midweek, when it’ll be wetter in the South Island’s south and west.

There’s a front approaching from the Tasman Sea — the effects of which we’ll see from late Wednesday.