KEY POINTS:
The fourth person to die following an accident between two motorcycles and a car near Rotorua at the weekend has been named.
The car driver died overnight and police named him this morning as Gordon Manu Armstrong, a 53-year-old Te Puke man.
The latest death came after Jos Mason, wife of one of the motorcyclists, said she will treasure the last words she shared with her husband.
"I was telling him all the good things I thought of him and he was telling me all the good things he thought of me," she said.
"He told me that he loved me ... Nobody believes he's really gone."
Leon Philip Mason, 33, a father of two from Papamoa, died early yesterday after a Sunday ride near Rotorua turned to tragedy.
His friends Simon Joseph Short, 37, and Antoinette Purchase, 43, also of Papamoa, were killed instantly when a car carrying four people collided head-on with their motorbike on State Highway 33 near Okere Falls.
Mr Armstrong's 5-year-old son and two granddaughters, aged 7 and 8, were reported to be stable condition in hospital.
Mr Mason, who was riding alone, suffered multiple injuries, surviving only long enough to spend a few hours speaking to his wife and the mother of his two boys, aged 3 and 7 1/2 months, at Rotorua Hospital.
Mrs Mason said she first met her "trustworthy, reliable, responsible" husband when they were 16 and flatmates, and they had been partners for 10 years. "He was the backbone of my family. I'm lost without him. He's a beautiful man."
A foreman at Mt Maunganui Truck Stops, Mr Mason loved riding motorbikes and he and Mrs Mason had gone on "big, dreamy, two-week holidays on the back of bikes" before their children were born.
Mrs Mason was angry about the circumstances of the crash, saying car drivers often ignored motorcyclists, passing them dangerously or cutting them off.
Family and friends of Mr Short and Ms Purchase, his pillion passenger and partner, were also mourning the loss of the passionate motorbike enthusiasts.
Mr Short, a hydraulics hose repairer, was remembered for being an accomplished rider who did not drink.
"Simon was very capable, safe as safe," his friend Robert Short said.
The two had gone on a road trip to Wanganui with another friend, whose last name was Shorter, leading to the trio calling themselves, "Short, Short and Shorter".
Ms Purchase, a nurse and mother of two girls aged 13 and 10, rode pillion but always looked the part, having "all the top gear", Robert Short said.
Her ex-husband, Mark, who also rode motorbikes with her during their 20-year marriage, said she was "an awesome lady".
"She's always been a great mum," he said.
Sergeant Brett Cooper of the Rotorua strategic traffic unit said a blood sample had been taken from the car's driver but the results would not be known for at least 10 days.
Initial inquiries suggested neither of the motorbike riders, both on Moto Guzzi bikes, was at fault.
Ms Purchase was thrown at least 60m and Mr Short about 15m by the impact of the crash, which happened in fine weather on a straight section of road.
The car driver was not thought to be wearing a seatbelt, but the children in the car were restrained, which had probably contributed to their survival.
"It's a little bit of light in a very dark tunnel," Mr Cooper said.
Ambulance, fire engines and rescue helicopters rushed to the scene, 2.5km north of Maniatutu Rd, following the crash.
The Rotorua-based Bay Trust rescue helicopter flew Mr Mason to Rotorua Hospital and the Tauranga-based TrustPower Tect rescue helicopter transported the car driver, who was unconscious and had to be cut free by firefighters.
The Fire Service sent three crews, and passerbys, including a doctor from Germany, helped six paramedics to tend to the injured.
"We don't come across that sort of carnage very often," Rotorua fire station officer Geoff Carter said.
"The severity of the injuries and the number were quite devastating."
State Highway 33 was closed for almost four hours and crash investigations yesterday focused on the damaged vehicles.
Police appealed to the driver of a white car who was believed to have seen the crash but not stopped to come forward.
- additional reporting NEWSTALK ZB
