Teen wagging school killed in crash

File photo / Hawkes Bay Today

A teenage passenger, killed when the ute she was in flipped on the Kapiti Coast yesterday, was wagging school.

Tiana Law, 16, died instantly after being thrown from a Toyota Hilux Surf when the driver lost control on a gravel road and rolled, before hitting a lamppost.

Five other teenagers aged 15 to 19 were injured in the crash, one critically.

The accident happened on Maungakotukutuku Rd, near from Paraparaumu, about 9.15am.

Ben Clifton, 19, suffered head, face and suspected spinal injuries, and was flown to Wellington Hospital by rescue helicopter.

The four others were taken to the hospital by ambulance with minor injuries and suspected fractures, a Wellington Free Ambulance spokesman said.

Miss Law, a Year 12 Paraparaumu College student, was a "very nice, pleasant young lady", the school's principal Richard Campbell told The Dominion Post.

The school had just started to make inquiries why four pupils did not turn up to school yesterday, when they heard of the crash.

"They had either planned or decided on the spur of the moment to off somewhere else," Mr Campbell said.

- NZPA