Eighteen injured in two Bay of Plenty crashes

A second serious crash in Bay of Plenty has left a mother and five children injured, with four in serious condition in Tauranga hospital.

It comes after a van crash early today left 12 teenagers injured, some seriously, south of Rotorua early today.

The second crash happened on State Highway 2 at Pukehina, about 20km east of Te Puke, about 12.20pm.

A sport utility vehicle (SUV) containing a mother and five children aged between one and 12 went out of control near Otamarakau Marae, left the road and ended up in a paddock throwing the passengers out of the vehicle, TrustPower TECT rescue helicopter pilot Andrew Harrison said.

"From what we understand the vehicle left the road hit a barrier and then rolled up a bank and the children got thrown out of the vehicle in that action," Mr Harrison said.

All of the passengers were injured in the crash with St John Paramedics tending to the patients at the scene.

The mother and three of the children, a boy aged around one, a four year old boy, and a teenaged girl, were in serious condition and were transferred by helicopter to Tauranga hospital suffering from cuts and open wounds as well as head and chest injuries, he said. The two remaining children where driven to Tauranga Hospital with less serious injuries.

It was fortunate that no passengers were killed in the accident, Mr Harrison said.

It was not clear what caused the vehicle to leave the road but no other vehicles were involved in the crash, he said.

The latest crash comes after a van, carrying teenagers returning home from a party, crashed near Rotorua at 2.30am this morning leaving 12 teenagers with injuries, with 11 still being treated in hospital and some in critical condition.

Police were alerted tot he crash by two truck drivers and when they arrived minutes later they found a scene they later described as being like a war zone with the injured teens lying all over the road.

They thought at least one of the occupants, the young woman, was dead when they found her lying face down and unresponsive, said Senior Sergeant Brent Crowe, from Rotorua police.

A Rotorua constable was checking each person at the scene and came across a girl he though was dead.

"He lifted her up, gave her a smack on the back and she went aaargh."

Mr Crowe said the girl was face down in moist, mucky and boggy conditions .

"Perhaps his actions might have saved her from her injuries or even from suffocating in the mud," Mr Crowe said.

Two of the teens were critically hurt, three were seriously hurt and the other seven had moderate injuries.

All the teenagers were taken to Rotorua Hospital with three of the more seriously injured being transferred to Waikato Hospital today, Waikato District Health Board, spokeswomen Mary Anne Gill said.

Two 17-year-old boys transferred to Waikato Hospital were in critical condition in intensive care with one suffering multiple injuries and the other suffering chest injuries.

Another seriously injured patient, a 17-year-old-girl with pelvic injuries, was currently being transferred to Waikato Hospital.

Another patient, a 16-year-old girl who underwent surgery this afternoon, was due to be transferred this afternoon but because Waikato Hospital was dealing with so many trauma patients she will now stay in Rotorua, Ms Gill said.

Of the remaining patients at Rotorua Hospital, six have been admitted to hospital wards, one remained under observation in the Emergency Department and one has been treated at ED and discharged, a spokeswoman from Rotorua Hospital said.

It is believed the van was returning to Rotorua from Taupo where the teenagers had been to a party and may have elected a sober driver. The driver's blood-alcohol level was tested at Rotorua Hospital.

The van failed to take a left hand bend on State Highway 5, 14km south of Rotorua.

"It crossed the centre line and hit a bank. In the process of losing control people have been thrown from the vehicle," Mr Crowe said.

He was unable to say if the van had seats and seatbelts.

Mr Crowe said the accident stretched emergency services to the limit with so many needing treatment.

Four ambulances rushed to the scene but a helicopter could not fly because of bad weather.

"This sort of thing is worst-case scenario. The police and all other emergency services and the hospital practice for it but it would have tested and challenged all our resources," he said.

"When the boys got there it was a disturbing scene."

He said the accident could have been far, far worse.

"We could have been looking at multiple fatalities... if someone had been trapped under the vehicle while it was still moving or if the vehicle had landed on top of them," Mr Crowe said.

Rotorua police have begun investigating the accident and are asking people with any information about the crash to come forward.

- NZPA