Unimog crash destroys a dream

Meredith Simms' dream of joining the Army was born when he was still at school.

Meredith Simms had a ready answer for any fellow soldiers poking fun at his first name.

"He would always say, 'Call me Melekifi' - the Samoan version - instead," said his uncle Apete Meredith.

"He was very proud of his Samoan heritage."

The 18-year-old private, whose first name was his mother's maiden name, was killed when an Army Unimog truck went down a bank and crashed near Blenheim on Wednesday.

The driver was flown to Wellington Hospital with serious spinal injuries, and is in a stable condition.

The accident, the latest in a run of fatal accidents involving Unimogs, has prompted the Army to defend the safety of its fleet.

"We must be cautious about linking Unimog accidents," said the Chief of the Army, Major General Lou Gardiner.

The circumstances of each incident had been different, "and there is no evidence to suggest a single cause".

Private Simms was following in the footsteps of his father David, a former member of the British armed forces who married his Samoan sweetheart, Fatima Meredith.

He had dreamed of joining the Army before finishing his studies at St Patrick's College in Silverstream.

In March this year, he fulfilled that dream, joining as as a rifleman.

After completing his initial basic training in May, he began training as an infantry soldier.

In June, Private Simms applied to become an army driver and began working at Burnham Military Camp, near Christchurch.

"He was a wonderful kid," said Mr Meredith. "As an only child, he had everything from his parents, but he wasn't a spoilt child. He had his head screwed on well. He was very, very close to his parents."

The Army said yesterday that the Unimog driver was qualified to operate the vehicle.

General Gardiner said all the accidents involving Unimogs had been investigated by the police and the Army, and any issues had been addressed.

"I remain fully confident in our fleet. We have operated a large fleet of Unimogs for more than 20 years and we drive 2.8 million kilometres a year in these vehicles."

An Army court of inquiry into the accident has been convened, and police are investigating.