Four people die on New Zealand roads over Easter holiday

Monday, 2 April 2018

Six people were injured in a crash near Matamata on Friday morning.

Four people have lost their lives on the nation's roads over the 2018 Easter long weekend.

This means we've already surpassed last year's Easter weekend road toll of two. The official Easter holiday period began at 4pm Thursday, March 29 and ends at 6am Tuesday, April 3.

Three people were killed on the roads during the 2017 long weekend but the official road toll is two, as one of the roads was closed to the public at the time.

According to the New Zealand Transport Agency's road death statistics, 103 people have died between January and March this year compared to 86 for the same time last year.

* Two dead, children hurt in crashes on Good Friday

* Man dies after being shot by police near Pohuehue, north Auckland**

One person died on Saturday after a crash in the Bay of Plenty.

One child died at the scene of a crash on the Desert Rd on Good Friday, a second died in hospital on Sunday afternoon.

Emergency services were called to the scene of the crash at the intersection of Edmund and Clayton roads in Rotorua.

Police were notified of the crash, which occurred between a truck and a motorcycle, around 11.20am, according to a police media statement.

Several crashes also occurred on Good Friday that claimed the lives of three people, including two young children.

Three children and two adults were shunted off the road into a power pole when a truck smashed into their vehicle near Matamata at 9.45am on Good Friday.

An hour later a person was killed in a crash between Taupō and Tokoroa.

The Desert Rd was closed on Friday afternoon after a truck and car collided leaving two young children dead and several others injured. One child died at the scene, and the second child died in Starship Children's Hospital in Auckland on Sunday.

And four people, including two who were trapped, were injured in a crash near Nelson on the same day.

While in an unrelated matter, a 29-year-old man died after being shot by police on Saturday morning on State Highway 1, north Auckland.

Police blocked off a 28km stretch of the highway, and drivers heading away for Easter were warned to expect long delays. The road was reopened on Saturday afternoon.