Fatal crash a lesson to others - uncle

Tony Wood died after his car collided with a horse trailer. Photo / Supplied

The grieving families of two teenage boys killed in separate crashes have spoken of their loss - with one saying the incident should be a warning against being "fast and furious".

Iharaira Te Are, 19, crashed a motorbike on a rural road near Ruatahuna in the Bay of Plenty about 2pm yesterday. He died at the scene.

About 26 hours earlier, Tony Kelvin Wood, 19, died when a car he was travelling in collided with a horse truck near Oamaru.

Te Are's uncle, Mahue Tawu, was among family members who gathered on the quiet rural road shortly after the accident, having seen the rescue helicopter land.

"It was horrible. He was just lying on the road."

Tawu said Te Are was a bright kid who knew what he wanted to do with his life. "He was hard-working and always positive. He had so many friends and never had a negative thing to say towards anybody."

Tawu hoped the tragedy would be a lesson to others.

"I think he was just driving too fast, hit some gravel and crashed.

"At the least I hope it gives a lesson to youngsters against being 'fast and furious'."

Jamie Timoti was second at the accident scene and rushed to call emergency services.

"I saw him struggling to breathe so I drove to the phone. There is no cellphone coverage here so it took some driving backwards and forwards."

She returned to Te Are after calling for help. "We couldn't twist him because we didn't want to do any damage so we just took turns doing CPR and compressions but he died."

The Oamaru crash happened after the car Wood was travelling in braked heavily to avoid a car ahead and crossed the centre line north of the Waitaki Bridge about 12.20pm on Friday. Wood died at the scene and the driver Kyle Bree, 19, was airlifted to Dunedin in a critical condition.

The two occupants of the horse truck received minor injuries, and two slightly injured horses in the back of the truck were treated by a vet at the scene.

Tony's mother Sarah McCabe said the two men had been close friends for four years and she had been in contact with Bree's mother earlier in the day.

McCabe said Bree was slowly improving in hospital and had gained a little movement in his hands and legs although he was suffering memory loss.

She said her son had gone back to school last year so he could qualify for the New Zealand Army where he wanted to train as a medic.

"He was an awesome child. He had a good upbringing. He was big on helping people. He played a big part in his brothers' and sisters' lives," McCabe said.

Waimate police acting Sergeant Clint Vallender said it was a "horrific scene. All involved needed immediate help.

"With the devastation of the scene, tourists and people in campervans did not hesitate to help the injured. Members of the public were great."

He said there was no indication of excess speed but the crash was made worse from traffic following close together.

An 18-year-old man died after being hit by a vehicle on State Highway 33, 2km north of Paengaroa in the Bay of Plenty at about 7pm yesterday. The driver was helping police with their inquiries.