Canterbury crash: Sandra Loveday named as woman killed in West Melton accident

Sandra Loveday, 60, of Christchurch was killed in a car crash in West Melton, Canterbury.

A Christchurch woman killed in a head-on crash that left a teenage boy fighting for his life has been identified.

She was Sandra Loveday, 60.

Emergency services rushed to the crash on Old West Coast Rd, West Melton, in rural Canterbury at 11.15pm on Monday.

A witness to the crash said the state highway running through the Selwyn District was wet when emergency services arrived - it had just begun raining.

The two cars were left in crumpled heaps on each side of the straight stretch of road.

Rural area commander Pete Cooper earlier said one person was in each car when the two collided.

Police have been unable to speak with the teen driver as he was yet to regain consciousness in the ICU at Christchurch Hospital.

Loveday was a senior legal executive at Canterbury Legal. The company announced her death on its website.

“Sandra’s presence within our small team was invaluable, and her professionalism and warmth left a lasting impact on all who had the privilege of working alongside her. Her loss has left us deeply shocked and saddened, and we are navigating this together.

“Our thoughts are with Sandra’s family and friends at this difficult time.”

A 60-year-old woman was killed in the crash and a teenage boy - was critically injured. Photo / George Heard

The Serious Crash Unit is now trying to determine why one car was on the wrong side of the road.

“The road is reasonably straight so we wouldn’t call it a high-risk road,” Cooper told the Herald.

“Every road is difficult to navigate if you’re concentrating on something else, at this stage we can’t rule out the road as a factor but it’s not a difficult stretch of road.”

Cooper pointed out this was the 14th road fatality on the district’s rural roads since January.

He called the toll “horrendous”.

“The amount of trauma it’s caused families in rural Canterbury, they’re suffering,” Cooper said.

“Crashes like this one are all preventable. It’s an annual message, but drivers need to take the act of driving seriously.”

Over the weekend, a car carrying a family bound for Mt Hutt crashed and killed two children, critically injuring a third.

The responding fire chief said it was one of the worst crashes his brigade had attended, with a double-fatal being “way out of the norm” for a little town like theirs.