Two boys orphaned after horror Cambridge crash kills parents

A 9-month-old baby and an 11-year-old boy are orphans after a horrific crash near Cambridge.

Baby Eli is in Waikato Hospital having survived the crash that killed his mother and father. His half-brother Riley, was not in the crash.

Riley's mother Brenda and step-father Chris were travelling on Cambridge Road on Saturday evening when their car collided with a truck.

Brenda's cousin has created a Givealittle page to raise money for the two boys.

"All funds raised will go directly to a trust for the boys for their future support," wrote Pam Tonkins.

"Eli and Riley will be cared for by family".

The page had raised more than $8000 on Tuesday morning.

Brenda and Chris are two of eight people killed in crashes across New Zealand over the weekend.

Early on Sunday morning a crash killed three members of the same family. Maurice Kareko, 35 Rhiannon Walters, 11 and Alec Walters, 5 were killed when their car smashed into a tree near Whananaki.

Another woman died in the early hours of Saturday in a two-car crash in Tahuna and another person died that night when their car hit a power pole near Thames.

One person died following a serious crash on State Highway 3 near Mangakowhai Road, Piopio in King Country on Sunday.

The horrendous weekend on the roads has police pleading for the public to take care.

"Every loss of life on our roads is a tragedy and these deaths will have a major impact both on individual families and wider communities," says Police Acting National Manager of Road Policing Inspector Gini Welch.

"We need everybody to do their part in keeping our roads safe."