The grieving grandmother of the Tauranga teen killed after the ute he was driving crashed into an Otumoetai house says he was a respectful, loving, "humble" boy.
Herewini Gates, 16, died when the stolen car he was travelling in lost control in the early hours on Monday.
His grandmother, who did not want to be named, said her grandson was a "really humble" person, always respectful, not one to backchat his elders, and always willing to pitch in when it came to chores.
"It was not like Herewini to have done something like this, and he has paid the ultimate price for his mistake," she told the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend.
The passenger in the car remained in Tauranga Hospital last night, she said.