Cars 'drag racing before fatal crash'

Two cars were spotted drag racing on a Waikato highway minutes before one car slid into a van, killing all four of its occupants.

An eyewitness to last night's dramatic smash on Ohaupo Rd told the New Zealand Herald the impact split a car in two.

Police today confirmed a third car may have been involved in the crash, which claimed the lives of all four people in a Nissan Skyline. Speed and alcohol are suspected as factors.

Airport worker Steve Hartland, who lives on the corner of Ohaupo and Ingram Rds, said he could hear cars speeding towards his house before the sickening impact.

"I could actually hear them going nuts coming down the road - that's what got my attention so I went up to have a look. The Skyline was on the wrong side of the road and he slid sideways and collected the van."

Mr Hartland said the impact of the crash ripped the Skyline in half. The back half was wedged into the airport's security fence and the other half was left on the road.

He said at least one female had died in the accident.

He heard a car with a loud exhaust leave the scene before he reached the roadside carnage.

"There was another car involved," he said.

Other motorists who had been overtaken by the speeding cars told him they had been passed by a Suburu and a Skyline drag racing each other on the open highway between Te Awamutu and Hamilton.

"Some of the people that were driving from Te Awamutu thought the accident was going to happen earlier down the road.

"The guy in the ute told me that as he was coming down the hill the Subaru was passing him and the Skyline was again passing the Subaru blocking all the lanes."

Police this morning said they were calling for witnesses who may have seen a second small white hatchback vehicle, possibly with tinted windows, travelling with the Nissan.

They said the Nissan had come around a slight left-hand bend on the wrong side of the road. The driver tried to correct but it lost control and collided with a Toyota van travelling south on State Highway 3.

Motorists travelling on SH 3 just before 10pm who saw the cars were asked to contact Senior Constable Mark Strongman on 07 872 0100.

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