Another witness at the scene said there were lots of people hovering near the horrendous crash, some of whom were "bawling their eyes out".
"Three cars ripped apart are still in the middle of the road and another is parked on the side of the road," the witness said at the time.
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• People 'bawling in the street' after multi-car smash ripped car in half, injuring 10<
An 11-year-old girl and a 35-year-old woman were critically injured in the crash. They are in stable conditions in Starship Children's Hospital and Auckland City Hospital this morning, but their injuries are still life-threatening, an Auckland District Health Board spokeswoman said.
A 43-year-old woman also hurt in the crash at the intersection of Dominion and Milton roads was in a stable condition in Auckland City Hospital, and a man initially taken to the hospital after the crash had been discharged.
Other injured people might have also been taken to the hospital following the crash, but had not stayed overnight.
St John Ambulance shift supervisor Greg Scott told Newstalk ZB at the scene that they had treated 10 people: two each with critical, serious or moderate injuries, and four with minor injuries.
Some of the injured had wandered into the gathered crowd, Scott said.
"It was quite a big incident and unfortunately some of our patients that came out of the cars went into the crowd, so we only found them later on. They were walking and so they weren't serious, so we discharged them on scene."
The crash scene was a devastating sight. One car was so badly damaged the entire back half was obliterated.
Scott said the incident was a big one. Some were trapped in their cars and had to be extricated.
"Anywhere in the country that would be [called] a major incident, and I'm only thankful that we do have a lot of ambulances to call on."
The Serious Crash Unit is investigating.
