A six-year-old boy and his younger sister have been left orphaned after their parents were killed in a horror car crash while driving home from a birthday party.
The couple died along with their six-month old baby girl when their car collided head-on with a truck.
The boy, Pare Hare Hika Edwards, was in the vehicle and was rushed to hospital with serious injuries.
New Zealand dad Pari Edwards, known as Puddz, his partner Ngarimu Hape and their daughter Jah-zarna Hape were all killed.
The family had been driving back from a birthday party on a beach when the tragedy happened.
Another daughter, Angel-Rose Hape, was in a separate vehicle, reports Northern Advocate.
The site of the wreck was on State Highway 1 at Kauri, and it happened shortly after 4pm on Saturday.
Hape’s sister Anahera Henare has said the couple’s extended family are still trying to come to terms with the deaths.
She said: “I spoke to them moments before the crash through video call just as they were leaving the beach. They said they’d return home, then re-pack and come down to Auckland to see me.”
She had five brothers and five sisters, while stay-home dad Edwards had 11 siblings, including himself.
Hape was the fourth oldest of 10 siblings. Her sister described her as “silly”, and someone who was full of laughter and loved to dance.
Trisha Raharuhi Pedersen, the sister of Edwards, described him as a big, friendly and cuddly type who loved all his nieces and nephews.
She said.: “He was well-loved and we’ll miss them dearly."
The key road was closed following the crash on Saturday with drivers being diverted around the area.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
Despite this Assistant Commissioner of Police Road Policing Bruce O’Brien said: “Even when speed doesn’t cause a crash, it is the single biggest determinant in whether you and your passengers walk away or are carried away.”
Continuing, O'Brien warned motorists away from anything that will impair their driving such as alcohol or drugs. They are a factor in about a third of all fatal crashes in New Zealand.
He said: “The most important message police want to convey is really simple: don’t risk your life and that of others by driving while impaired in any way."
