KEY POINTS:
A family yesterday buried two of its children as the survivor of a tragic rail crossing crash told of the plans he and his girlfriend had made before she was killed.
Hundreds of people turned out in the Bay of Plenty town of Maketu to farewell Keeley and Ryan Jamieson, 20 and 22, who were killed when their car was hit by a log train at the Maketu Rd crossing in Paengaroa.
Jo Hunu, who was also in the car, told the Herald on Sunday he was asleep at the time of the crash and regained conciousness outside the car after the train hit.
But he lapsed back into unconsciousness before he could be told his partner Keeley and her brother had been killed.
He learned of their deaths the next day in hospital, after being treated for minor injuries to his arm. He discharged himself straight away to return to Keeley's home and be with her family.
Hunu said he and Keeley had intended to travel to Australia next month, where her brother Doyle had moved to, to look for work. Now, Doyle has returned to live in Maketu, and Hunu won't be leaving. "I'll stay here now."
The crash happened when the three were returning home from a trip to Bayfair, in Mount Maunganui, to buy their mother a birthday present. Both Keeley and Ryan, who was sitting in the back, were killed instantly.
Hunu told the Herald on Sunday the pair had known each other for years. "I was a local boy, she was a local girl." They worked together, with Ryan, at Maketu Pies.
Hunu, clearly devastated by the accident, shook his head when asked if he had a treasured memory of his partner of over three years. "No, I just can't think." With one arm in a sling, Hunu said he had been in a total of four car accidents, but managed to walk away from all of them.
About 500 people visited the Jamieson home for the service, which was run by Keeley's former rugby coach Grant Munroe, who warned the large crowd: "There will be laughter, lots of laughter. And some tears."
The laughter came as Munroe described the "motley, scruffy Pakeha girl" who turned up to play on the local high school girls' rugby team and later became their secret weapon because she was so small and light.
Keeley was celebrated by her friends who spoke of her as a good netball and rugby player.
Meanwhile, Ryan was described by uncle Max Johnston as a "shy boy - but he had a smile". Ryan was passionate about computers, and one friend who spoke said there had been hundreds of messages posted online mourning the young man's passing. "He was little, but he was Andre the Giant on the computer."
Mother Heather Johnston, with 23-year-old son Doyle on one side and Hunu on the other, sat at the head of the two coffins, and laughed at times.
At the end of the service, she got up and listened as Munroe read from notes she had made about her children, whom she had raised alone. "On Tuesday 12 June, two-thirds of me died. The loss of my treasured babies would have been unbearable if not for the support of the people of Maketu."
Many members of the group held balloons bearing messages of RIP and love for the brother and sister. The balloons were released into the air as the coffins were carried to the cemetery. One read "Happy 21st Keeley" - she was to have celebrated her birthday yesterday.
Three shifts of pallbearers, including members of Keeley's rugby team, carried the two coffins to the small cemetery across the road. With a bitterly cold wind blowing, Heather knelt before the coffins, laying a hand on each, and stroking the material covering them.
She remained kneeling as both bodies were lowered into the ground, side by side.
A passionate haka farewelled the siblings as the mourners filed past the grave, and Hunu, Doyle and Heather huddled together.
Members of the local fire brigade, who attended the accident, were also at the funeral to pay their respects.
