Family on way home from tangi before horror crash

Palmerston North woman Kathie Rifle was driving her four children back from a tangi in Otaki when her vehicle veered off State Highway 56 and crashed into a deep culvert.

Hikurangi Te Pounamu Raiwhara, 1, and his sisters Ashlie Waiata, 3, and Hannah May, 5, were killed. Their brother, Tamati, 8, in Auckland's Starship hospital, and Mrs Rifle, in Palmerston North Hospital, are both in a serious condition.

On Thursday family members at the bedside of Mrs Rifle - who is also known as Raiwhara - said she had woken from her coma. Her brother Rob Wilson said the family had the support of friends and the church and were bearing up.

"Kathie and her son are stable. Now it's just a waiting game for them to come right and we'll take it from there," he said.

The children's father had travelled to Auckland to be with Tamati, but had returned to his wife's bedside.

Police are continuing their investigation into the crash, checking for mechanical faults, whether the children were wearing seatbelts and whether they were working correctly.

- NZPA