Savva Lopoukhine was a laughing, affectionate and thoughtful boy who loved classical music.
Savva Lopoukhine was a laughing, affectionate and thoughtful boy who loved classical music.
When 5-year-old autistic boy Savva Lopoukhine was happy he ran like the wind.
The little boy with a mop of blond hair couldn't communicate verbally but his loving parents Evgueni and Elena and 18-year-old sister Zoia always knew when he was happy.
"When he was happy he would run, he was so fast, people would say 'your boy, he runs like a champion'," proud dad Evgueni told the Weekend Herald.
On Saturday, October 22 the New Zealand-born boy of Russian heritage was especially happy.
The family drove out to Piha to spend the afternoon at one of Savva's favourite places.
"He loved it there because he could run, there was open space for him to be free," Evgueni said.
"He would play with his Tonka truck in the sand or just run."
At his funeral the family played all of Savva's favourite songs and Eric Clapton's 'Tears in Heaven', written by Clapton for his son, who also died in a fall.
The family had just arrived at Piha when Savva dashed ahead toward Laird Thomson Track at the northern end of the beach.
The family said they would still visit Piha to be close to their son and had plans to approach Auckland Council about placing a memorial seat on the track.