A resident rushed to the scene of a fatal crash near his home after he heard a loud bang and people shouting the name of a child, who later died in hospital. Police this morning confirmed a child had died and four others were injured in a three-vehicle crash at an intersection in the Auckland suburb of East Tāmaki last night. Two of the vehicles were waiting at traffic lights when a car mounted a footpath and become airborne before crashing into them. A resident who lives near the crash scene told the Herald he looked over his fence after he heard the impact and saw there had been an accident. The man heard people yelling a boy’s name, which he later found out belonged to the child who died. He grabbed a rescue kit and drove to the scene to “render assistance”. “There was already a policeman on site, and they were already performing CPR on the young boy. A doctor arrived, took over the scene at the time until the rescue people arrived,” the resident, who did not wish to be named, said. The Serious Crash Unit is investigating the crash that led to the death of a child. Photo / Hayden Woodward A person who witnessed the crash later came to his house and said she saw a car collide into two SUVs, which were stationary at a red light, the man said. The vehicle mounted the pavement and hit the other vehicles while it was partly mid-air, he said. “The way that it’s impacted the other cars, it’s just sort of freakish.” The man said he was “sleepless most of the night” after the crash. The Serious Crash Unit examined the scene and inquiries are ongoing. Police said emergency services were called to the intersection between Smales Rd and Te Irirangi Drive at 8.05pm. The injured child was taken to hospital in a critical condition but later died. “Our thoughts are with the family at this incredibly difficult time.” Four other people received minor to moderate injuries. Accidents a regular occurrence The local resident said accidents at the intersection were a regular occurrence, so much so that he has a rescue kit, containing a flashlight, high vis vest and a blanket, in his home. Every three or four months, a crash happens at the intersection, and it has been like that for the 13 years he has lived there, he said. “This [yesterday’s crash] is the most tragic and most serious, although we have had other reasonably large accidents.” When the speed limit on Te Irirangi Dr was 60km/h, it did not make a difference, he said. “It’s just one of those things. It’s just people make mistakes in the rain most of the time at night.”