A 19-year-old man who survived a horrific crash near Hamilton, which killed his three friends, remains in hospital in a critical condition.
Three young men, believed to be in their late teens, were killed after the car they were in smashed into a tree on a straight section of Gordonton Road, a rural area 7km northwest of Hamilton central, before 6am on Friday, an earlier police statement said.
The critically injured survivor remains in a critical condition in Waikato Hospital's intensive care unit, a statement from the hospital says.
Waikato road policing manager Inspector Leo Tooman told NZ Newswire the man's injuries were "very, very serious".
Insp Tooman, who attended the crash, described it as "horrific" and said there was a strong smell of alcohol at the scene and bottles of alcohol were found in the car.
However, he said it was too early to say for sure whether alcohol was involved.
The four friends had spent Thursday night in Hamilton and were driving back to Auckland to go to work when the crash happened, the New Zealand Herald reported.
The impact of hitting the tree had caused the entire front of the car to crumple into its body.
NZN