A woman who died in a road crash on SH5 yesterday afternoon (Wednesday, 14 October) was 29-year-old Stephanie McHale from Rotorua.
She was the driver of a Mazda Atenza heading away from Rotorua at the time of the crash. Her six-week-old son who was with her has been kept in hospital overnight for observation but is not believed to have been injured in the crash.
A 43-year-old man from the Murupara area, who was driving a Mazda Bounty utility towing a trailer, is in Rotorua Hospital in a critical condition. His 44-year-old male passenger from Auckland is in a stable condition in Rotorua Hospital.
Initial enquiries indicate that the utility and trailer, for reasons to be established, appears to have crossed the centreline and collided with the Atenza.
A serious crash investigation is continuing.