Teenage fatal crash victim named, speed blamed

A 14-year-old girl killed last night after the car she was in crashed while speeding past another was named today as Jamie Marie Sandra Walker from Alexandra.

She died instantly after the car, being driven by a 16-year-old Alexandra youth, left the road while overtaking a friend's vehicle travelling in the same direction on State Highway 8 about 8.54pm.

The youth lost control of the car about 1.7km from Alexandra while both cars drove towards Clyde, Alexandra police said in a statement today.

"The vehicle left the road and collided with mature pine trees. It was severely damaged and the vehicle's motor was thrown about 30m long the highway."

The dead girl's sister, Jade Emma Ivy Walker, 15, was badly injured and in a moderate condition in Dunedin Hospital today.

The driver, Ben Tauber Joseph, and the fourth occupant of the car, Olivia Gardner, 14, also from Alexandra, were both in critical conditions at the same hospital.

"Police investigations into the cause of the accident are continuing but at this stage it appears that speed and the manner in which the vehicle was driven contributed to the accident," the police statement said.

SH8 where the crash happened would be closed until at least 4pm today.

Two teenagers were travelling in the other car, a Toyota Levin, and the driver stopped and called 111 after the crash, police said.

It was not known exactly how fast the two vehicles were going, or if the occupants of the crashed car were wearing seatbelts.

A specialist police crash investigator had arrived from Dunedin and would be at the scene this afternoon.

It was too early to say if charges would be laid, police told NZPA.

- NZPA