Two car crashes in Wakaito resulted in one person's death while two others including a pregnant woman sustained injuries. A crash involving two vehicles was reported around 4:50am near Tamahere at the intersection between State Highway 1 and Cherry Lane. The Cambridge Road is now open to traffic after the vehicles have been cleared south of Hamilton.

According to Inspector Rob Lindsay of the District Prevention department, an Audi hatchback was seen turning left on State Highway 1. The car headed to the southern part of Cambridge road where it crashed to an oncoming vehicle.

Lindsay says more is yet to be known about the crash since it is still under investigation. Initial findings suggest that a Toyota Corona hit the Audi head on after coming out of the south bound lane.

The Toyota Corona driver was in critical condition and was immediately rushed to Waikato Hospital. The two people inside the Audi including a pregnant woman were also taken to the same hospital.

Rescuers from emergency services were concerned about the condition of the pregnant woman and her unborn child. Pregnant women are always at risk after a car crash even if there are no injuries. The risk to health is even greater when a pregnant woman sustains injuries as in the case of the accident last night. She may be in danger of placental abruption and early labor. Her unborn child may also be at risk to respiratory distress syndrome or worse, death.

Freight truck driver dies

Emergency services responded to another road accident on Kawhia Road. A truck crashed into bank as the driver lost control of his vehicle. The B-train truck is filled with goodsand blocked the road. Some freight contents were seen scattered on the road when responders arrived at the scene.

It is unclear at this point whether the driver died upon impact. Efforts to remove the debris and the large vehicle are underway using a crane and salvage trucks to tow two trailer units and a tractor. State Highway 31 is expected to be closed probably for the rest of the day.