Labour Weekend road toll at three, crash near Rotorua leaves one critically injured

As Labour Weekend draws to a close, the official holiday road toll stands at three, with another three people killed on Friday night before the toll period began.

It was a horror start to a long weekend during which New Zealand roads claimed the lives of six people and injured multiple others.

The official 2023 Labour Weekend period began at 4pm on Friday, ending at 6am on Tuesday.

The most recent reported death was on Saturday night, when a cyclist died in Waititi, Dunedin.

Police said the crash was reported about 6pm on Mt Cargill Rd. Emergency services attended but the cyclist died at the scene.

The official death toll began on Saturday about 3.30am, when a pedestrian died after being struck by a vehicle in Waipapa, Northland. Inquiries into the circumstances of the accident, on Onekura Rd, are under way.

On Saturday afternoon one person died in a single-vehicle accident on State Highway 26 between Te Aroha and Paeroa.

In 2022, five people died over Labour Weekend, with six deaths in 2021, eight in 2020, and two in 2019.

This afternoon, Labour Day, a person was taken to Rotorua Hospital in a critical condition after a serious crash north of the city as holidaymakers returned home across the country.

St John Ambulance said the traffic accident happened on SH5 at Ngongotahā just before 3pm.

Police said the accident involved a single vehicle. The highway was blocked for several hours as a result of the crash.

After lengthy delays this evening as people returned from their holidays, traffic is now free-flowing in most places.

Earlier, there were delays on SH1 before Wellsford and between Ōrewa and Silverdale due to a crash.

Waka Kotahi confirmed at 11.35am that the right southbound lane was blocked just after the Silverdale off-ramp, and drivers should take care passing.

Police work to clear a crash on Northern Motorway near Silverdale. Photo / Michael Cunningham