UPDATE: Serious crash, Matamata

Police can confirm the vehicle involved in last night’s serious crash involving five children had been stolen from Hamilton.

Enquiries also suggest the vehicle was linked to a burglary on Monday evening in Matamata.

“This information, together with other lines of enquiry, are being assessed by Police staff investigating this crash,” says Waikato District Commander Superintendent Bruce Bird.

“It is too early to provide detail on the cause of the crash itself other than to say speed appears to be a likely factor.”

Police are not looking to locate anybody else in relation to the crash, and Police had no interaction with the vehicle prior to it.

Four children remain in a critical condition in Waikato Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit. One of these children is expected to be transferred to Starship Children’s Hospital later today.

A fifth child remains stable in Waikato Hospital.

/NZ Police Public Release. View in full here.