A Palmerston North mother is among those to have been killed in a crash near Taupō yesterday, with her young daughter still recovering in hospital.
A baby was among injured passengers transported to hospital by rescue helicopter. Photo: Supplied / Philips Search & Rescue Trust
Four people, including a five-year-old boy, were killed and eight others injured when two cars crashed at the intersection of SH1 and Tutukau Road yesterday afternoon.
Several of those injured were members of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga in Bunnythorpe and were returning from a trip to Auckland.
One of the cars had been returning to Palmerston North from Auckland following a church conference.
It had been the last of 11 cars to make the journey back to Manawatū.
Olivia Halaifonua said her cousin-in-law - Pesi Tuivai, 44 - was one of the passengers in that car and died at the scene.
She described Ms Tuivai as a wonderful woman who loved her children: three sons and a daughter.
Her three-year-old girl was among those injured in the crash and is in a stable condition in Rotorua Hospital.
Ms Halaifonua said Ms Tuivai came to New Zealand from Tonga two years ago on a work visa and was a relief teacher at the Tongan Early Childhood Centre in Palmerston North.
She said it had now closed for two days, "so that the staff and the parents could come to terms with this tragic loss".
Last night Ms Halaifonua's father, who is the elder of the family, gathered everyone together for a prayer service and to tell the kids that their mother passed away in the accident.
"I don't know what's going on in their heads but they're not saying much."
She said they were praying for Ms Tuivai, along with the other three people that were killed in the crash.
Police said a 56-year-old woman, 60-year-old man and a five-year-old boy who were travelling in a separate car also died.
Those injured include a 10-month old baby who was flown to Starship Hospital in Auckland overnight in a critical condition.
Two girls aged 2 and 17, and a woman aged 66, all remained in Rotorua Hospital in a stable condition.
At Waikato Hospital, a 42-year-old man was in a critical condition in intensive care, and a 32-year-old woman was in a stable condition, police said.
Another woman, 42, was also taken to Waikato hospital, but was not admitted.
The crash happened at the intersection of SH1 and Tutukau Road yesterday afternoon.