Triple fatality - State Highway 1 - Woodend, North Canterbury

At about 11:20 am on Saturday 1 May 2010 a car travelling south on State Highway 1 was involved in a head-on crash with a bus travelling north. The male driver of the car (aged 21 - driver), a female passenger (aged 16 - rear seat) and a male passenger (aged 16 - rear seat) died at the scene. Two passengers from the car (male aged 37 and male aged 16) were airlifted to Christchurch Public Hospital where they are in a serious but stable condition. No one on the bus was injured.

State highway 1 south of Woodend was closed for approximately six hours while the scene was examined and debris removed. Traffic was diverted onto a parallel road and flowed freely throughout the closure.

"This crash has happened on a straight piece of the state highway, the road was clear and dry and there appeared to be no external factors that have contributed to the incident," says Inspector Al Stewart, Canterbury Road Policing Manager.

"It will be important now for the investigation to run its course to identify exactly what has happened inside the car that may have contributed to the crash."

"Both front seat occupants of the car were wearing their seatbelts, but it appears that none of the three rear seat passengers had been wearing theirs. There was evidence of alcohol at the scene, but it has not yet been confirmed whether or not the occupants of the car had been drinking", says Inspector Stewart.

At this time, not all of the next of kin of the deceased and injured parties have been notified and as such we will not be releasing their names until sometime tomorrow (Sunday).

The Canterbury road toll now stands at 7 as opposed to 9 this time last year, and 12 on the five yearly average.