Two young men heading to the La De Da Festival and a woman are in hospital after a crash at the foot of the Rimutaka Hill.
The two-car, head-on collision happened at the Double Bridges at 2.30pm yesterday. The driver, aged in his 20s, of a white hatchback had to be cut from his car by fire crews. He sustained chest injuries and was taken to Wairarapa Hospital along with his passenger, a man also in his 20s. They had been heading to Martinborough for the La De Da music festival.
Featherston police's Sergeant Kevin Basher said it appeared the woman driver and sole occupant of a south-bound car had over-corrected after entering a corner at the bridges and collected the car containing the two men.
The woman was also taken to hospital for observation.
A hospital spokesman said all three were in stable conditions, with only minor injuries suspected.
Featherston Fire Station officer Tim Rees said both cars were heavily damaged in the crash, with firefighters cutting the doors off one car to gain better access to the injured driver.
One lane was shut while the scene was cleared, with north-bound drivers experiencing moderate delays.
The crash was the second on the hill in three days, after a motorcycle rider came off his bike near the summit on Wednesday and was flown to Wellington Hospital with chest injuries. Mr Basher soft tar had created a slippery surface.
In Masterton yesterday police attended a crash in Colombo Rd in which a driver had clipped a parked car.
No injuries were reported.
Meanwhile, an issue at railway crossings in Featherston unconnected to the Rimutaka crash also caused traffic problems.
Barrier arms were down across State Highway 2 and State Highway 53, causing a build-up of vehicles.
Local resident Peter March said he diverted vehicles to other crossings for about an hour from 3pm until someone from KiwiRail arrived to fix the problem.
Mr March said police had told him KiwiRail had been testing the barrier arms.