The four people who died in a fiery two-vehicle smash south of Auckland last night took the national road toll to seven for the day.
The horror crash near Tuakau also left a fifth person in Auckland's Middlemore Hospital in a critical but stable condition.
One of the two cars burst into flames, burning some of the occupants beyond recognition. Police said today it was not even possible to tell if the victims were male or female.
Two adults and a child, aged about six, died in one car, and the other dead person was found on the side of the road.
The accident happened about 9pm when the driver of a Ford Falcon overtook another car, and lost control on a bend and hit a Mitsubishi car travelling in the opposite direction.
"The Ford Falcon has crushed the Mitsubishi on the passengers' side the whole way in," police spokeswoman Ana-Mari Gates-Bowey said.
No details of the dead were available.
Earlier in the day three people died in accidents around the country.
A woman tourist died in a two-vehicle smash in Taranaki about 4pm; a 40-year-old motorcyclist was killed when his bike and a truck collided in Waitakere, west Auckland about 2.20pm; and a 66-year-old Blenheim woman died when her car rolled in Marlborough about 11.30am.
