Dinosaurs lose pal in horror crash

Harlan Batters-Ellis, 3, died when his mother's car collided with two vehicles while trying to avoid a crash in Kaeo this week. Photo / Supplied

Harlan Batters-Ellis was excited about moving into his new house with his mum, having helped her decorate his freshly painted bedroom with stickers from his favourite cartoon.

But before the pair were able to spend a night in their new place, the 3-year-old was killed when his mother, Kelly Batters, swerved into a bus while trying to avoid a crash on State Highway 10 in Kaeo, Northland.

A Toyota Corolla left the road about 4.45pm on Tuesday and ended up down a bank after the sun obscured the female driver's vision.

The woman, in her early 20s, climbed up the bank to get help. A ute driven by a man, who had his two children in the front bench seat, stopped.

As he was talking to the woman through the passenger window, Ms Batters came up behind the ute, clipped it, hit a southbound bus and came to rest in a ditch. Harlan, who had been strapped in his carseat in the back seat, died instantly.

The ute also slid into the ditch but the family suffered only minor injuries.

The bus was returning from a trip to Cape Reinga and Ninety Mile Beach. None of the tourists on board was hurt.

One of the first people on the scene was Harlan's grandmother, Brenda, whom Ms Batters and Harlan lived with on a Kaeo farm. The accident happened near the Sanford oyster plant, where she is a manager.

Ms Batters was taken to Whangarei Hospital with minor injuries.

She had just picked up Harlan from Creative Minds daycare and was heading home.

Daycare head teacher Joy Kareko, a good friend of the family who was tied up in traffic herself after the accident, described the toddler, who was big for his age, as a "gentle giant".

"He was full of energy, he wanted to run, he wanted to play-fight, he wanted to roll around. But he had a lovely nature, he didn't have a nasty streak in him."

He loved dinosaurs and the cartoon Ben 10, the theme of his new room.

"He was quite clever. He had this thing with dinosaurs. I'd call them by their proper names like stegosaurus, while the other teachers would call them Big Foot or Long Neck. He always stuck with the big words and he'd correct his mother," she said.

Harlan brought several clothes to daycare in his backpack because he often had to change after playing in the mud or with water.

The day after the crash, Ms Kareko spoke to each parent dropping off their child about what had happened and asked them to break the news to their son or daughter.

Most of the children were too young to comprehend the tragedy. "One boy didn't understand that Harlan had gone to heaven. When he came in, Harlan was usually already here so he was looking around for him, the friend that he always played with."

The children decorated a canvas with their handprints, names and messages surrounding a photo of Harlan and gave it to his mother.

Constable Daniel Cleaver of Kaeo police, also a family friend, said the crash was still being investigated. It might be several weeks before it was decided whether charges would belaid.