A car has collided with a train in Canterbury, the third incident involving a train in the region this week.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand shift manager Alex Norris said emergency services were responding to an incident involving a car and a train near Dunsandel.
Nobody was injured or trapped in the incident, Norris said.
A police spokesperson said emergency services were called to the collision about 10.20am.
“Thankfully, neither the train driver nor occupants of the vehicle were injured.”
His devastated mother Sharon Reynolds Whaea posted a powerful tribute on social media and said her son was “vibing along to his music dancing along the train tracks as he often does and was hit by the train”.
She said nobody was at fault.
“As a whānau right now, we need your prayers and love, and thank you all for that. For now, we know the race before him has ended, and he is with Jesus. Amen.”
His sister posted a tribute to him on Facebook saying she was “broken” at her “beautiful” brother’s death.
A friend posted on Facebook saying he was “enjoying his life, early start to the day, tunes blasting and hit by a bloody train”.
“Things can change in an instant no matter how safe you feel in the circumstances.”
A KiwiRail spokesperson said the collision was at a level crossing that had warning lights and bells.
The Toyota Prius involved, driven by what the Herald understands were “a couple of teens” had been fleeing police before it was struck by the train on Lincoln Rd in Addington, Christchurch.