The long-serving Scouts New Zealand manager who died in the horrific eight-fatality collision at Atiamuri has been remembered for her boundless enthusiasm for the organisation.
Jenny Rodgers was one of the eight people killed in Sunday's crash. She was the sole occupant of a Scouts NZ vehicle.
A family, including both parents and five of their children, also died in the other vehicle in the collision on State Highway 1 at Atiamuri around 10.30am on Sunday.
The couple's 9-year-old boy was the sole survivor of the crash and he remains in a stable condition after being flown to Waikato Hospital.
Rodgers was the general manager for lower North Island/National schools for Scouts NZ and was on a work-related trip over the weekend at Waitomo.
Scout Caving School director Warren Turnwald chatted with Rodgers during dinner at the weekend event.
He said it would be hard to find another person with the "calibre and enthusiasm" of Rodgers.
She had started as an office administrator before progressing to become in charge of all the different Scout "schools" across the country that run during holiday breaks.
"She was a very enthusiastic and a capable leader," Turnwald said.
He said the pair talked about Rodgers' future goals for the Scouts during the dinner, while she also keenly listened to some of the achievements of the local kids.
Scouts NZ chief executive Joshua Tabor spoke with Rodgers' family on Sunday following the crash.
"We are committed to supporting Jen's family as best we can given the sudden and tragic circumstances," he said then.
"We also extend our support and have offered counselling to our staff and volunteer community, many of whom worked closely with Jen during her long tenure with Scouts."
Jenny Rodgers died in the crash. Photo / Supplied
Rodgers was travelling from Hamilton to Taupō after attending a closing dinner at the National Caving School in Waitomo the night before, Tabor said.
After reaching Taupō, Rodgers had planned to meet with a senior volunteer before then continuing onto a work meeting in Palmerston North.
Police officers work at the scene of the crash. Photo / Ben Fraser
The family in the other vehicle, who were living in Tokoroa, were travelling north and understood to be heading home at the time of the crash. They were just 30km from home.
The children attended local schools including Tokoroa High, Tokoroa Intermediate and Tokoroa North School.
The schools issued a joint statement yesterday that said:
"There has been a tragic accident that has affected our whole community, in particular Tokoroa North School, Tokoroa Intermediate and Tokoroa High School.
"We can confirm students from our schools have been involved but we cannot confirm names as they have yet to be released by the police.
"We are currently putting support systems in place to support our staff, students and their whānau. This is our priority at this time."
Jenny Rodgers, a Scouts New Zealand employee, died in the crash. Photo / Ben Fraser
A stretch of SH1 in the area was closed for several hours as Fire and Emergency New Zealand, St John and police crews worked at the scene.
Bay of Plenty Road policing officer Inspector Brent Crowe said to describe the scene as a complete tragedy would be an understatement.
Sunday's crash follows another harrowing crash in the area after five family members died in a single-vehicle accident on Tirohanga Rd on April 1.
That crash was located around 20-minutes west of the Atiamuri crash and claimed the lives of three females and two males. An 11-year-old was the sole survivor.
Before yesterday, 33 people had been killed on the country's roads in the past month.
As of April 25, the Ministry of Transport was reporting 125 people had died on New Zealand's roads since the start of the year.
At the same time last year there had been 127 road deaths.
Eight people died and a boy was critically injured in the crash. Photo / Ben Fraser
