A frustrated police officer has shared a poignant message about New Zealand's high road toll and described what it's like attending crashes following a "horrendous crash" north of Auckland.
Two people lost their lives in the three car collision on State Highway 16 at Waimauku, north of Auckland, just before 5pm on Thursday.
Police said they were trapped inside one of the vehicles following the fiery crash which left three others seriously injured.
In a video posted to the New Zealand Police Facebook Page yesterday, Inspector Bruce O'Brien shared this thoughts following the crash and reflects on New Zealand's high road toll.
"I wanted to start off 2018 by talking about something positive after 380 people lost their lives on New Zealand roads in 2017," Inspector O'Brien says.
Two people died and three were seriously injured in the crash at Waimauku, Thursday. (Source: Other)
"Unforutnely already we've seen three serious crashes and last night we saw a 19 and a 20 year old lose their life in a horrendous crash in Rodney west.
"People sometimes ask me what its like attending these crashes and the only way I can describe them is horrific and something nightmares are made of.
"All emergency services that attend these crashes carry those images for a long time to come but that's nothing compared to what the families who lose loved ones have to go through.
"We keep giving the same messages about not exceeding the speed limit, wearing your restraint, not drinking and driving and having patience on the roads but unfortunately people are still making really poor decisions while they are out there."
Inspector O'Brien then stated police are doing their bit to help keep people safe on roads across New Zealand and are urges drivers to do their bit.
"Our deepest sympathies go out to those whanau's who lost loved ones yesterday and I just really hope we don't have to see any more people lose their lives on our roads."
The holiday period ended with 12 people dying on the roads - an average of one person per day.
The Christmas-New Year road toll period started on the afternoon of December 22 and ended at 6am on Wednesday with the final holiday death occurring in Masterton when a motorbike and ute crashed on Monday.
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