UPDATED 4.44pm A 54-year-old man, a 12-year-old boy and 14-year-old boy died after their silver sedan crossed the centre line of State Highway One at Huntly yesterday afternoon and collided with a Mark Grey Carriers truck.

LISTEN ABOVE: Newstalk ZB reporter Sam Carran spoke to Larry Williams from the police media stand up 

The Brisbane Times named the man as Stephen Phillips, of Longlea, Queensland, and said the boys were his two stepsons.

The woman in her 20s and nine-year-old girl who survived the crash were the boys' mother Belinda Williams and her daughter, Tessa, according to the Times.

The truck driver was uninjured and is helping with the investigation.

Inspector Freda Grace said there was nothing to suggest speed was a factor in the crash.

Speaking to media this afternoon Inspector Grace did not confirm whether fatigue was an issue but the police are investigating it plus all other avenues. 

The family had left their home on Monday morning to spend two weeks visiting Williams’ family in New Zealand.

They left their home in the hands of their neighbour, Billy Azad, who told the Times the neighbours were shocked at the news of the crash.

“They were very good neighbours, I have got a six-year-old and a two-year-old and they would look after them when we had to go into town.

“It is horrific, it is hard to swallow.”

He had heard Belinda Williams was out of surgery and “going well” and Tessa had been able to see her.

This morning the woman was in a serious condition in the high dependency unit at Waikato Hospital. Her daughter was in a stable condition in a ward.

Mr Phillips was first violinist with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra while Belinda Williams played viola for the orchestra as a casual guest musician, Azad said.

"Stephen was a good gentleman, he was good at repairing pianos, a handyman kind of guy," he told the Times.

"Belinda was a great lady, she would drop other kids on the street to the bus stop."

Mr Phillips had been with the orchestra since 1987 and Williams since 2002, the orchestra chairman Greg Wanchap told the Times.

In releasing the ages of the victims, Inspector Grace also issued a warning about driving within speed limits and to the conditions.

"Drivers must be fit for the road, which means being well-rested and focused," she said.

"Too often, a moment of fatigue or distraction has tragic consequences."

Another person later died on SH1 in the Waikato. A woman was hit by a truck south of Tokoroa early on Tuesday morning.

So far this year 232 people have died on the country's roads, compared to 222 at the same time last year.