Two people have died following a collision between a car and an ambulance in Cambridge.
Video / Caitlan Johnston
One of the drivers killed in a horror head-on collision between a car and ambulance in Waikato lost his mother two years ago after she was set on fire by a mentally unwell man.
Deon Hadley died at the scene after his silver Audi collided head on with an ambulance on State Highway 1 near Cambridge about 3.45am on Wednesday.
The tragedy took the life of Ariana Hadley's brother, two years after she lost her beloved mother, Tania Hadley, in a homicide.
Ariana said she was feeling "numb". Her brother has been remembered as a kind and generous man who was still finding his way after the shock loss of his mother.
"He was a very kind-hearted person," she said. "He did love a lot of people and care for them."
An ambulance officer who had served St John for 55 years was taken to Waikato Hospital with critical injuries and died the following day. Her name was released on Monday - she was Susan Cutler, 66.
In May 2020, Deon's mother died after her tenant doused her in petrol, set her on fire then slashed her throat at her home in Mt Roskill, Auckland.
Her tenant, ex-convict Damien Charles Chandler, was charged with murder but found not guilty by reason of insanity the following year.
He was ordered to be held at a secure mental health facility for at least 10 years.
Ariana is remaining stoic amid the second shock loss of a close family member in a little over two years as she makes arrangements for her brother's farewell.
Ariana Hadley and Deon Hadley with a photograph of their mother Tania Hadley outside the Auckland High Court in June 2021. Deon was killed in a head-on collision with an ambulance in the Waikato this week. Photo / Craig Kapitan
Ariana said her brother, 33, had been struggling after his mother's death and was unemployed.
He was living at his late mother's house in Mt Roskill but had travelled south on a journey of self-discovery, Ariana understood.
"I think he was just going to find himself," she said.
Deon served as a family spokesman after his mother's death.
Shortly after Chandler was charged, he spoke of how he was kept in the dark about how she died as he waited anxiously for news about her at a police cordon.
"Everyone else knew before I did," he said outside the High Court.
Outside the same court the following year, Deon said he and his sister were pleased with the outcome and hoped Chandler would never be released.
He described his mother as a hard-working woman who "dedicated her life to her career and her children".
"She was generous with love, and she was taken way too soon," he said.
The crash between a car and an ambulance on State Highway 1 near Cambridge killed the Audi driver at the scene. A St John Ambulance officer died later in hospital. Photo / Caitlan Johnston
Ambulance service grieves
The driver of the ambulance who died was a St John patient transfer officer from Rotorua decorated for her decades of service.
She was appointed a Member of St John in 2004 and also served as a volunteer firefighter with her local brigade, the Herald understands.
Her name has not been released and the family have not spoken publicly.
Hato Hone St John Ambulance operations deputy chief executive Dan Ohs said in a statement the organisation was devastated by the loss of one of its own.
"They are one of a very small number of ambulance officers to lose their life in the line of duty in New Zealand in the last 80 years," Ohs said.
Photos from the scene show the crash happened at or near a bend on the road on double yellow lines.
Both vehicles were left mangled wrecks and debris was strewn across the road.
Chief executive of the Waikato Chamber of Commerce Don Good called the stretch of road between Hickey Rd, where the crash happened, and Piarere a "death trap" that had claimed "an unacceptable number of lives".
"Road users, local residents and Chambers have appealed for urgent action for the right safety measures to be put in place and have been ignored."
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency speed and infrastructure programme director Dave Van Standen said safety improvements were well underway for the road between Cambridge and Piarere.
"Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy. Any death or serious injury on a New Zealand road is unacceptable."
Several kilometres of median barriers had already been installed, including 2.4km from south of Ferguson Gully which had been hit 40 times since it was installed in 2020.
