New Zealand's horror run on the roads continued today, with a fatal crash near Oamaru bringing the death toll to 21 in nine days.
One person is dead and another is seriously injured following the crash, which happened just north of the Waitaki River bridge about 12.30pm.
A car and a horse truck, carrying two horses, collided on State Highway 1, by the lay-by just before Glenavy. The two occupants of the truck had minor injuries, as did the horses.
The Otago Regional Rescue Helicopter is at the scene.
A police southern communications spokeswoman confirmed it was a fatal accident.
The death came amid a horror nine days on the roads, in which 21 people died in 15 accidents - many of which police have blamed on speed and alcohol.
A 17-year-old girl thrown from a car in Hawkes Bay on Easter Monday died in hospital on Wednesday night, pushing the holiday road toll up to 12 - the worst in 18 years.
The teenager was flung from the car she was driving after it drifted to the left and rolled, about 80km southwest of Hastings.
She was flown to Hawkes Bay Regional Hospital in a critical condition then transferred to Wellington Hospital, where she died.
Police believe she may not have been wearing a seat belt.
On Wednesday, a 92-year-old pedestrian died after she was struck by a vehicle in a 70kmh area on the main road of Paengaroa, near Rotorua.
Five people were killed in two crashes on Wednesday, including two British tourists in Northern Southland and a 2-year-old girl.
Two more people died on Tuesday - an elderly man hit by a bus in Auckland and a 46-year-old man whose four-wheel-drive vehicle rolled on Waiheke Island.
Inspector John McClelland, from Police National Headquarters, said it was upsetting the same factors seemed to be behind many of the accidents.
Speed and alcohol were suspected as a factor in five of the crashes, including one on Wednesday night near Dannevirke in southern Hawkes Bay, in which a toddler, her 36-year-old father and a 73-year-old woman were killed.
"The disappointing thing for many of them is booze and speed and really police can do only so much, you can legislate only so much, but really people driving vehicles just really have to take responsibility when they're on the road and be aware of what's happening around them and be prepared for the unexpected."
In Wednesday's second crash, an English couple holidaying in New Zealand were killed after a head-on between two rental cars in Southland, about 60km southeast of Te Anau.
Driver fatigue could have been to blame for that accident as well as two others, Insp McClelland said.
When people were tired, their attention levels dropped and sometimes road signs were missed.
"Fatigue or tiredness comes on gradually. If you find you're wandering or your eyes are droopy then you've really got to stop - and you're better off being late than being dead on arrival."
It had been a "horrendous" week for accidents, he said.
Some of the crashes were also caused through people not necessarily speeding, but driving too fast for the road conditions, he said.
"All this stuff is preventable. And it's just such a waste of life."
