Three passengers were trapped for nearly an hour after their car careered off the road and down a bank near Tauranga.
A woman is critically ill and two other passengers were seriously hurt in the accident at about 11.30pm on Thursday.
Their car plunged off Omanawa Rd in Omanawa and stopped against a tree.
The driver was able to get out, police say, but the passengers had to be cut free by firefighters before being taken to Tauranga Hospital.
