The person who died in a crash near Raglan was 35-year-old Thomas Stanley Paurini Wahanga, police confirmed.
Wahanga was a local of the Waikato coastal town and leaves behind a partner and four children.
“It is with the utmost shattered and unwilling hearts we announce that Thomas Wahanga tragically passed away, leaving behind many shattered hearts,” Whaingaroa Whai League wrote in a post on Facebook.
He is being remembered as a loyal person.
“Tommy was loved far and wide across the motu. if there was one word to describe Tommy it would be LOYAL. Loyal to those he loved and loyal to Whaingaroa.”
The two-vehicle crash on State Highway 23 was reported to emergency services around 9.15am on Sunday.
A police spokesperson said an investigation into the crash remains ongoing.
“Our thoughts are with his loved ones at this difficult time,” they said.
A family member posted that Wahanga would be taken to Poihakena Marae today before “he takes his final trip to where he will lay next to his dad” on Thursday.
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