Eseta and Toilolo Fanuasā are now in New Zealand to be with their youngest son, one of six men who were in a horrific crash in Ramarama in August.
Video / NZ Herald
In the two months Lapi Toilolo Fanuasā has been fighting for his life in hospital, he has had life-saving brain surgery, marked his 21st birthday and discovered his older brother was among three men killed in a crash that left him with critical injuries.
Much of the right side of his body is paralysed, he can’t speak and he has had part of his skull removed. Despite all that, he can still pose for the camera with a thumb’s-up.
“O le vavega a le Atua,” his mother says – a miracle from God.
Eseta and Toilolo Tutogi Fanuasā with their youngest son Lapi Toilolo Fanuasā, 21, the youngest survivor of the deadly Ramarama crash in August. Photo / Dean Purcell
He and four other workers – including his older brother Leauga Jerry Leauga, 45, and cousin Ta’avao Kelemete, 32 – were travelling in a van being driven by their uncle, Auckland resident Fa’aofo Uili Fa’aofo, who had volunteered to pick them up from the Bay of Plenty that day.
The workers were due to fly back to Samoa that same week.
The crash was reported at 1.47pm on Monday, August 26, on SH1 between Bombay and Ramarama. Image / Supplied
Police continue to investigate the crash, but say initial indications are that a truck coming from the opposite direction suffered a tyre blowout – causing it to veer off-course and into other vehicles, including the group’s van.
Lapi’s uncle Fa’aofo, brother Leauga and cousin Ta’avao were killed instantly. Of the three men who survived, Lapi was the worst off, having suffered critical head injuries that left him in Auckland City Hospital up until only a few weeks ago, when he was transferred to the ABI Rehabilitation Services facility in West Auckland.
Fa’aofo Uili Fa’aofo (right) and his two nephews Ta’avao Kelemete (middle) and Leauga Jerry Leauga (left) died in the Ramarama crash on August 26, 2024.
His parents, Toilolo Tutogi and Eseta Fanuasā, have only recently been able to travel to New Zealand from Samoa to be with their youngest son thanks to the company their sons worked at, EastPack Ōpōtiki.
“We couldn’t do anything because we were so far away,” dad Toilolo says.
“It was tough to take and to hear that three of them had died. We were grateful to God that three remained.
“We knew Lapi was not in a good way, though. We just wanted to get here as soon as possible to be here for him and see him.”
Mum Eseta’s eyes well up when she thinks back to that fateful day; revealing that she and her eldest son Leauga had been talking much of that morning, as the brothers waited for their uncle Fa’aofo – her brother – to arrive.
Lapi Toilolo Fanuasā, 21, is now receiving care at a rehabilitation facility in West Auckland. Photo / Dean Purcell
“We said our goodbyes because my brother was almost there for their big trip to Auckland. By that evening, we hadn’t heard from them and we thought they’d arrived and catching up with my brother and his wife and children here in Auckland, in Kelston.”
By about 8pm – just over six hours after the fatal crash – a phone call would turn their world upside down.
“A woman whose husband is also a seasonal worker with my boys called me and broke the news about the crash. The news she gave me is the kind that shocks the heart,” Eseta says quietly.
“She told me to stay strong. I said: ‘What do you mean stay strong? Has something happened’?”
‘Finally heard his voice’
At being told of the deaths, she described the pain as almost unbearable: “I felt my heart weaken.”
Lapi with his proud parents, Eseta and Toilolo Tutogi Fanuasā. Photo / Dean Purcell
News that her youngest son, who has worked in New Zealand under the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme for three years, was critically ill in hospital was a hard pill to swallow as a mother, she said. They buried their eldest son back home in Savaii before making moves to be with their youngest here in Auckland.
Lapi’s condition has improved markedly in the last few weeks; particularly since his parents arrived. He is awake and able to move parts of his body; although much of his right side remains paralysed.
In his room at the facility, photos of Lapi and his brothers, uncle and fellow seasonal workers are stuck on the wall. He points to one of him before the crash, standing tall and wearing sunglasses.
A small bed and mattress next to Lapi’s bed is where his mother sleeps. She stays with him all the time now, she says matter-of-factly.
Lapi can almost move his leg on his right side and he can understand what is being said and happening around him.
The couple thanked extended family members who had visited and cared for Lapi while they were in the islands. They also wanted to express their thanks to ordinary members of the public who had offered support and prayer for their son and family, as well as their sons’ employer, who continue to support them.
The Samoan Advisory Council in NZ has set up a fund and a Givealittle page to help the families of the surviving men.
Lapi is also not yet able to speak, but his mother reveals that the other night – during evening prayers – Lapi’s voice suddenly boomed through the room, as he tried to sing the hymn.
“I just cried at that. He can’t say any words, but we finally heard his voice.”
Vaimoana Mase is the Pasifika editor for the Herald’s Talanoa section, sharing stories from the Pacific community. She won junior reporter of the year at the then Qantas Media Awards in 2010 and won the best opinion writing award at the 2023 Voyager Media Awards.
