Driver fatigue may have been a factor in a tragedy north of Kāeo which claimed the lives of a mother and son and left three others in a critical condition, a police investigator says. 
 
The head-on collision occurred about 12.20pm on Saturday on State Highway 10, between Kaeo township and Kāeo Bridge. 

Six people were involved – a man and a five-year-old child in a south-bound Ford Ranger ute, and a mother and three sons in a Subaru station wagon heading north. 

The deceased are a 47-year-old woman and an 11-year-old boy. 

Two other children in the station wagon, aged 12 and 13, survived but were seriously injured. 

At least one person was trapped in the wreckage and had to be cut free by volunteers of the Kāeo, Kerikeri and Mangonui fire brigades, who also provided initial first aid. 

Both vehicles were extensively damaged in the head-on crash north of Kāeo. Photo / supplied 

Police responded from across the region along with multiple St John ambulances, two Northland Rescue Helicopters from Whangārei and one Westpac Rescue Helicopter from Auckland. 

The helicopters landed in a paddock near the crash site. 

Three patients were transported by helicopter in a critical condition, with at least one child flown directly to Starship Hospital in Auckland. 

One patient was taken to Whangārei Hospital by ambulance in a serious but stable condition. 

Senior Constable Warren Bunn, of the police Serious Crash Unit, said the collision occurred a few hundred metres north of the former oyster processing plant on a straight piece of road. 

The weather was fine, both vehicles were relatively new and in good condition, and everyone was wearing a seatbelt. 

The investigation was continuing but driver fatigue was a possible factor, Bunn said. 

The head-on collision occurred on an open road with a 100km/h speed limit. 

The crash forces would have been enormous, he said. 

State Highway 10 was closed north of Kāeo for several hours with traffic diverted via Matauri Bay Rd. 

Victim Support workers helped distressed relatives who rushed to the crash scene. A police iwi liaison officer also attended. 

The crash scene has been blessed. 

Two Northland Rescue Helicopters responded from Whangārei along with a Westpac Rescue Helicopter from Auckland. The helicopters landed in a paddock near the crash site. Photo / supplied 

It was one of Northland's worst crashes in recent years in terms of deaths and serious injuries. 

The region's road toll for the year to date now stands at six. 

A 60-year-old man died after he was hit by a car on State Highway 14 at Tangiteroria, near Dargaville, on Wednesday. 

- by Peter de Graaf, NZ Herald