5 killed, driver seriously injured after single car crash in New Zealand

WELLINGTON - New Zealand police confirmed Sunday that five people died in Saturday night's overloaded single-car crash, one of the worst recently in South Island's Timaru.

The car driver, in his late teens, was taken to Timaru Hospital on Saturday night in a serious condition.

The car collided with a pole at the intersection of Seadown Road and Meadows Road in Washdyke, Timaru, shortly before 7:30 pm Saturday night.

Formal identification of the victims remains ongoing.

"To have five lives lost in an instant is a terrible tragedy, and our thoughts are with their families," said Superintendent Steve Greally, the director of National Road Policing Center.

"Particularly in a small community, the impact of a crash like this stretches far, and everyone in the area will be hurting."

There were insufficient seats and restraints in the car for the people involved in this crash.

"This is incredibly frustrating," said Greally. "Seatbelts save lives, and it's evident that not everyone in this car was belted in."

A full investigation will be carried out.

"Driving at excess speed for the conditions, and not being properly restrained, are two of the unsafe driving behaviors that we know contribute to death and injury on our roads, which is sadly what appears to have happened here," he said.

New Zealand has seen high fatalities on the road for the last few years especially during the festive seasons, while speeding has been the top factor causing crashes.

Figures from the Ministry of Transport show there were 320 deaths on New Zealand roads in 2020. The government vowed to reduce the number of deaths on the road by 5 percent annually by upgrading high-risk roads, changing safety standard requirements, and increasing alcohol and drug testing.