Three people have been killed in a car accident in Whananaki, northeast of Whangarei
A child is in a critical condition, and another person has minor injuries.
The single-vehicle crash happened on Whananaki North Rd at 2:13am, police said. The car hit a tree.
The road has temporarily closed while police conducted a scene examination. It has since been reopened.
An investigation into the circumstances of the tragedy is underway.
The road toll so far this year, before this latest crash, was at 41 - down on the past few years.
But there have been seven deaths just this weekend. Four have been killed in the Waikato region, including a double-fatality in Cambridge on Saturday evening.
