(File picture) Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
Two people have died after a vehicle hit a tree in the Far North town of Ahipara.
Police said the crash happened on Kaitaia-Awaroa Road shortly before midnight.
Two people died at the scene and a third was taken to hospital in critical condition.
Police were investigating the circumstances of the crash.
In another crash south of Auckland, one person was critically injured and one suffered moderate injuries on this afternoon.
The crash took place at about 4.20pm on Buckland Road, near Tuakau, south of Pukekohe.
Police asked motorists to avoid the area if possible and said the road was likely to be closed for several hours.
Meanwhile, one of the seven people injured in an accident in Waikato on Wednesday morning is in a critical condition, and has been airlifted to Waikato Hospital.
The two-vehicle crash near Karapiro happened around 11am.
A St John Ambulance spokesperson said all seven patients have been taken, or are on their way, to Waikato Hospital.
One was in a critical condition, two serious, and four had moderate injuries.