- Police say a vehicle crossed the centre line in yesterday’s fatal crash.
- Five people died in the crash on State Highway 3 in Ōhaupō, involving two cars.
- A motorist who drove past the scene described the car as ‘mangled’.

A Waikato crash in which five people died yesterday involved one vehicle crossing the centre line, police say. 

Inspector Jeff Penno has provided an update at Hamilton’s road policing base following the Ōhaupō crash. 

While police knew lots of details about the accident, “we do not understand why it happened,” he told media. 

One car had crashed front on with another vehicle. Police would be looking at whether any driver was impaired. 

“A meticulous scene examination” has been conducted by the serious crash unit. 

“Primarily we focus on the physical evidence.” 

The scene was not in a state for investigators to know whether those in the vehicle were wearing seatbelts, Penno said. 

Waikato road policing manager Inspector Jeff Penno said yesterday the Serious Crash Unit was conducting its scene investigation. 

Both vehicles were “older” but it hadn’t been determined whether that was a cause of the crash. 

• Five dead in 'horrendous' crash near Hamilton, SH3 closed
• 'Grim' crash that killed five shocks Waikato community

All family members of those who died have been advised of the incident. Police were well down the path of identifying the victims but were not in a position to release details, Penno said. 

Penno said he was “not prepared” to say whether those who died were locals, or where they were from. 

“We are infamous for our road trauma,” Penno noted but said this particular piece of road isn’t known for being dangerous. 

“Every fatality on our roads nationally is gut-wrenching for police.” 

He said it was particularly hard on the young emergency personnel who attended the crash scene. 

“For emergency services, there is no such thing as a nice fatality scene. 

“We do our role to save lives. 

“When it goes wrong, we do take it personally, but equally that gives us the motivation and passion to do what we do.” 

Penno said he would not describe the scene out of respect for those who have died. 

“Those side barriers have exponentially more benefits than risks... the side barriers were not at play in this fatality.” 

Penno said it was not for police to comment on whether centre barriers were needed. 

“Centre barriers do save lives, they are also incredibly hard to retrofit.” 

‘It was mangled’ - witness 

Meanwhile, a man, who did not wish to be named, has told how he drove past the crash while medics were arriving. 

He described the scene as “very bad”. 

“I could see two cars were involved, it looked like the van had rolled. It was mangled. 

“People had gathered around the car, I think there were two people inside.” 

He originally thought it must have been the remnants of an older accident. 

It wasn’t until he got home that he found out five people had lost their lives in the crash. 

“It’s really sad news.” 

State Highway 3 in Ōhaupō has reopened after the crash between Jary Rd and Ngaroto Rd. 

The NZ Transport Agency issued an alert at 6.15am saying the road had reopened around midnight. 

A police spokesperson has indicated there will be an update from police later this morning. 

The section of SH3 where the accident happened remains under traffic management as scene clean-up is completed this morning. 

The crash was reported to police at about 4.44pm yesterday. 

Police confirmed the three occupants of one vehicle and two occupants of the other vehicle all died at the scene. 

Waikato road policing manager Inspector Jeff Penno said yesterday the Serious Crash Unit was conducting its scene investigation. 

Waikato road policing manager Inspector Jeff Penno said yesterday the Serious Crash Unit was conducting its scene investigation. 

“There is a large scene we need to work through and our priority at the moment is understanding what has occurred to cause this tragedy.” 

Penno said police were also making sure that support was provided to those who need it. 

“Emergency services are still working through the scene, just making sure we collect all the evidence to understand what has happened in this horrific crash. 

“This is a high-volume road and at that time of day it is quite busy, but we understand the conditions to be dry and the weather was fine albeit getting slowly darker. Obviously, we will look at all causes and anything that contributed to this horrendous crash.” 

The accident happened just four days after James Parlane, 61, died after his Land Rover collided with a truck on the same road. 

This morning Parlane’s sister, Angela Parlane, thanked the public for their kind comments about her “big brother”. 

“I’m also so sorry to see another very devastating accident on SH3 yesterday and thinking of those poor people and their whānau,” Angela said. 

More to come. 

Jaime Lyth is a multimedia journalist for the New Zealand Herald, focusing on crime and breaking news. She began working under the NZ Herald masthead in 2021, as a reporter for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei. 

Maryana Garcia is a Hamilton-based multimedia reporter covering breaking news in Waikato. She previously wrote for the Rotorua Daily Post and Bay of Plenty Times.