Two British tourists were seriously injured in the head-on crash and were flown by helicopter to Dunedin and Southland hospitals later that afternoon.
Constable Mark Caswell, of Queenstown, said the serious crash unit was yet to finish evaluating the scene but the charges were laid after police interviewed four witnesses.
‘‘They are telling us the defendant's vehicle was on the wrong side of the road at the time of the crash.''
The Chinese woman, who will appear in the Queenstown District Court today, did not want to make a statement to police, he said.
The charged woman's passenger was treated at Lakes District Hospital on Saturday and discharged. She was admitted to Southland Hospital yesterday after complaining of abdominal pain.
The 57-year-old British driver of the other car was in Dunedin Hospital's intensive care unit with multiple fractures and some internal injuries.
He had surgery yesterday and was still in a serious condition.
The British man's wife was in a stable condition yesterday in Southland Hospital's critical care unit.
Sergeant Blair Duffy, of Queenstown, said police responded to about 20 driving complaints per shift at the weekend.
The incidents were scattered along all main roads in and out of Queens-town.
Sgt Duffy said the abnormally high number of complaints were not exclusively about tourist drivers and all drivers needed to consider safer driving habits.
Police contacted a rental car company on Saturday after a Chinese driver failed to give way on the corner of Berkshire and Caernarvon Sts in Arrowtown.
