Police can confirm that, sadly, five people died in last night's single-car crash in Washdyke, Timaru.
A sixth person, the driver of the car, was taken to Timaru Hospital last night in a serious condition.
The car involved collided with a pole at the intersection of Seadown Road and Meadows Road, shortly before 7:30pm last night.
Formal identification of the victims remains ongoing.
"To have five lives lost in an instant is a terrible tragedy, and our thoughts are with their families," says Superintendent Steve Greally, Director: National Road Policing Centre.
"Particularly in a small community, the impact of a crash like this stretches far, and everyone in the area will be hurting."
There were insufficient seats and restraints in the car for the number of people involved in this crash.
"This is incredibly frustrating," says Superintendent Greally.
"Seatbelts save lives, and it's evident that not everyone in this car was belted in."
A full crash investigation will be carried out, however, it does appear speed was a likely factor in this crash.
"Driving at excess speed for the conditions, and not being properly restrained, are two of the unsafe driving behaviours that we know contribute to death and injury on our roads, which is sadly what appears to have happened here."
