Flaxmere fatal crash: Woman faces manslaughter charge over crash that killed 11-year-old Emma-Jane Sylvia Kupa

A tribute at the crash site as a 34-year-old woman is charged with manslaughter. Photo / Rafaella Melo

A woman has appeared in court charged with manslaughter after a crash that killed 11-year-old Emma-Jane Sylvia Kupa, who was struck while cycling in Flaxmere.

The fatal crash occurred as Emma-Jane cycled with her 15-year-old sister on Chatham Rd, Lochain, about 5.30pm on January 30. Emergency services responded, but Emma-Jane died from her injuries at the scene, which was nearby her home.

A police spokesperson said a 34-year-old woman had now been charged with multiple offences, including manslaughter.

The woman appeared before Judge Gordon Matenga in the Hastings District Court on Tuesday morning via an audio visual link from prison.

A large number of people were in the public gallery. The woman’s interim name suppression was continued until her first High Court appearance, which is due to take place in the High Court at Napier on March 21.

She was remanded in custody.

The woman also faces charges of driving with excess breath alcohol, dangerous driving, and failing to stop to ascertain injury.

Whānau’s devastating loss

A memorial to Emma-Jane has been created at the site where she was killed.

Her parents, Shannon Davis and George Kupa, previously told Hawke’s Bay Today they and their whānau were struggling to cope with the devastating loss.

Eleven-year-old Emma-Jane died in a crash in Flaxmere while cycling on Chatham Rd.

On the day of the crash, Emma-Jane was helping her mother sprinkle cheese on a lasagne for dinner before heading to the shop with her sister.

Davis said her last words to her daughter were simple but now carry deep weight: “Thank you, baby.”

“She was a real bubbly person,” she said of Emma-Jane.

“She liked watching TV, sleeping, and she loved drawing.”

The family was at home, talking with friends, when they received a call that would change their lives.

“At first, we were told it was my older daughter, the 15-year-old. But when we got around the corner, my oldest daughter told us it was Emma-Jane who had passed away,” Davis said.

“It was horrifying,” Kupa recalled.