An eight-year-old girl has become the seventh fatality from yesterday's horror road crash in Taranaki.
Police say she died early this morning.
Six people died in yesterday's south Taranaki smash, while an eight-year-old girl and woman remain critically ill. (Source: Other)
Emergency services were called to the scene about 11.11am near the Waverley racecourse on State Highway 3, and police said the vehicles had crashed head-on.
Four elderly people in a car heading north from Waverley died at the scene.
The accident near Waverley is the most deadly crash in New Zealand in more than a decade. (Source: Other)
The male driver of the other car also died, as died a newborn baby travelling in a car seat.
The eight-year-old girl who was in that second vehicle was transported to Waikato Hospital in a critical condition, and a woman passenger was also taken to Wellington Hospital, also critical.
Police say at the time of the crash the weather was clear and the road was dry.
Road Policing Manager Inspector David White says a baby is among the dead in the crash north of Waverley. (Source: Other)
Road Policing Manager Inspector David White said the crash is "an absolute tragedy on our roads".
"That this happened on a day like today is just unbelievable and just devastating for those involved," he said.
The road has now been re-opened, and the Serious Crash Unit is investigating.
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