Police believe speed and alcohol were factors in a crash that claimed the lives of four men north of Wairoa last night.
The car the men were travelling in crashed head-on with a 4x4 vehicle on State Highway 2 on the Mohaka Hill, north of Raupunga at around 7.30pm.
Two others were seriously injured in the collision.
The victims have been identified as 49-year-old Kennedy James Weir, Raimon Keefe, 16, and Zyah Gianni Marsh, 13.
All were from Wairoa. Raimon and Zyah were half-brothers.
The four were a shearing gang returning home from work.
Police believe the two vehicles collided as the car crossed the centre line into the path of the 4x4, which was towing a boat.
None of the three passengers in the back seat of the car were wearing seatbelts and were thrown from the vehicle. They died at the scene. The driver of the car also died, while the front seat passenger, a 17-year-old male, is currently in a serious condition in Hawke’s Bay Regional Hospital.
The driver of the 4x4, a 62-year-old from Whitianga, also remains in a critical condition in Hawke’s Bay Regional Hospital.
3 News