Desert Road triple fatal crash victims named as mother and two children
The three people who died in a two-vehicle crash on the Desert Road were a mother and her two children.
Monday’s accident claimed the lives of Leidy, as well as her children, James, 8, and a 7-month-old, only identified as “baby”, a Givealittle page set up for the family said.
Leidy’s 11-year-old daughter, Sully, was the only survivor of the crash, the page said.
Leidy’s eldest daughter, Marcela, was not involved in the accident.
“At this stage, Leidy and James are currently in Palmerston North waiting for them to be released to us to bring them back home to Hamilton.”
Funds raised by the page would go towards funeral and travel costs, as well as support for the surviving family members.
Emergency services were called to the accident, between Shawcroft Rd and Access Rd No 17, just before 3am on Monday.
Police said three people died at the scene and two suffered serious injuries.
Another person was believed to be missing from the crash.
However, police later established he was not in the vehicle.
Ruapehu Mayor Weston Kirton earlier told NZME the crash was devastating for the community.
“My thoughts go out to the families that are involved.
“Long weekends tend to be vulnerable to crashes ... with the extra volume of traffic and that location, Desert Rd, can be quite lonely and isolated, and so people quite often get into trouble that way,” Kirton said.
The accident contributed to the highest King’s Birthday road toll in a decade as seven died in crashes over the long weekend.
The previous highest King’s Birthday road toll was in 2016, when 11 people died.
Overnight between Sunday and Monday, five people died in what police called a “horror night”.
“One person died in a crash in Wairakei, one on Waiheke, and tragically, three people were killed in a crash in Waiōuru,” director of road policing Superintendent Steve Greally said.
“That is absolutely gutting.
“We are thinking of their families today, while they deal with the awful reality that their lives will never be the same.”