A 61-year-old church minister was killed on Christmas Eve when two 4WD vehicles collided and rolled in Napier.
The Rev Sonny Saniva Ng Shiu was driving north along State Highway 2b when a southbound vehicle hit his head-on about 1pm. He died at the scene.
Ng Shiu's death was among five caused by four crashes during a 13-hour period that ended early on Christmas Day.
It has rocked the community and seen his church, the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa, flooded with calls of condolence.
His son, Robert Ng Shiu, travelled to Hawkes Bay from Auckland the day before the crash to spend Christmas with his family.
He said his father cared deeply for his community.
"He would always agree to help out, he was the sort of man where the 24 hours in a day was never enough.
"We have been inundated with calls from across New Zealand and overseas. Most of them are struggling to believe it."
Robert last saw his father three hours before the crash.
"We went over [to the church] to say hi. He was enjoying the day and was looking forward to spending Christmas with the family.
"It seems so surreal, we are all still waiting to wake up from the nightmare."
Senior sergeant Wendy Right from Napier Police said witnesses reported seeing both vehicles roll after the impact.
"The driver of the other vehicle suffered only minor injuries," she said. "The serious crash unit is investigating and no charges, if any, will be laid until after the investigation is complete." Ng Shiu's death was among four in car crashes in a two-hour period.
Two people died when a 4WD flipped several times before colliding with a power pole in a remote part of the East Cape about 12.45pm.
Edwin Ward, 44, and Edward Tangaere, 26, both died at the scene.
About 1pm, a middle-aged man was killed in Waikato after the car he was in drove down a 10m bank into a creek.
Police said the man was seen weaving within his lane by a following motorist and failed to take a right-hand bend 4km outside Huntly.
The car landed upside down in a creek. Police said passers-by pulled the man from his car and attempted CPR but he died at the scene.
The official holiday road toll started at 4pm on Christmas Eve and runs until 6am on January 5. The first death within that period came after a car being driven by 31-year-old father Paul Lawrence McLaughlin plunged down an 8m bank about 1.45am on Christmas Day, throwing him from the vehicle.
The farm worker was travelling north between Ngaruawahia and Taupiri when his vehicle clipped a guardrail, crossed the centre line and left the road.
His friend and employer for more than a decade, Kevin Tapp, said the death was having a huge impact on McLaughlin's family and friends.
"You couldn't find a better person.
"He has a 10-year-old daughter and she was so precious to him.
"It's a huge loss, it is hard for everyone when he was so loved. I know it's the saddest Christmas I have ever had."
Holiday road toll (4pm December 24th - 6am January 5th)
- HERALD ON SUNDAY
