Double tragedy rocks church

Jesse Boulay. Photo / Supplied

A teenager involved in a fatal New Year's Day crash is struggling to pull himself out of a coma after his life support was switched off this week.

Jesse Boulay, 16, was one of four teenagers involved in two, unrelated fatal accidents this month - with three of them attending the same Salvation Army church youth group.

Boulay was in the passenger seat of a Nissan Pulsar which lost control and crashed into a Mercedes on Littles Rd, north of Queenstown, on January 1.

The accident killed back-seat passenger Jessica Law, 16, and injured driver Josephine Clay, also 16, who had only recently received her learner driving licence, according to police.

Boulay is listed as being in a serious condition in Dunedin Hospital's high dependency unit.

As the close-knit community was coming to terms with Law's death - the first fatal road accident of 2010 - tragedy struck a second time three days later.

Richard Doyle, 19, drowned on January 4 after going missing during a morning swim at Northcliff Beach, near the Gold Coast in Australia, while on holiday with his family.

Doyle, the son of Wakatipu High School board of trustees chairman Peter Doyle, was discovered in the shallows of an outlying island after an extensive two-day air, sea and underwater search.

A funeral was held for him in Arrowtown on January 14.

Queenstown Salvation Army corp manager Kenneth Walker said the community was struggling to come to terms with the loss of two of their members.

He said the Law and Doyle families knew each other well and Doyle had participated in a number of church programmes two years ago.

Clay was also an active member of the youth group.

"It's a close-knit community here and people have been affected far and wide by what has happened," said Walker.

"Especially with one accident being on the heels of another. We're not over it yet."

Constable Phill Hamlin of Queenstown police said Clay had been interviewed and a conference was being planned between Clay, Boulay and Law's families. Once the police investigation is completed, Clay could face multiple charges.

"Josephine had recently acquired her learner licence but I cannot say how long she has had it for," said Hamlin. "Speed appears to be the main factor and possible inexperience. There did not appear to be environmental issues and alcohol was not a factor.

"We are now seeking advice through the legal section, which will come up with suggestions to a course of action for potential charges."

Hamlin said dealing with the three families was a "delicate situation", given Boulay had his life support switched off.

"I understand it was very touch and go for a while ... I believe he is still in a coma with a limited response. It will most likely be a very, very long road."

Law's father, Max, said his family was "coping as well as can be expected" in the weeks following his daughter's death.

"We'll have to see what happens with any charges [against Josephine] in the future, but because we don't know when that will happen we won't make any comments at this stage," he said.

Friends of Law, Boulay and Doyle have been posting messages on social networking sites Facebook and Bebo, and have set up tribute sites for each.

Law was a talented musician and a 2007 finalist in the MLT songwriting awards, who was in the process of working songs for her first album.

On Facebook, she is described as: "An amazing girl she had a beautiful voice. Jess is loved by everybody and will never be forgotten."