The Te Awamutu community held a candlelight vigil to remember eight victims of car crashes. Video / Mike Scott
Eight lives, crushing grief, heartbreaking silence, and a community united in loss after four deadly vehicle crashes in little more than three weeks.
Tonight, the Waipā community, stunned motorists who drove past the most recent – and deadly – crash scene, first responders, friends and family, and those who simply wanted to acknowledge eight lives gone in an instant, gathered in candlelit darkness.
About 100 people attended tonight’s vigil at Te Awamutu’s Selwyn Park.
A photographer at the scene said proceedings ended about 7pm after a speech from the organiser, followed by a poem, karakia and waiata.
“They had a table with the eight photos of the victims they were commemorating surrounded by candles. People were just rocking up and having a look, deep in thought about them.
“You could tell there was some emotion when people were looking at the portraits. They were really feeling a bit of pain I suppose... People were friendly, quiet and respectful while deep in thought,” the photographer said.
The Te Awamutu community held a candle light vigil tonight in memory of eight fatal car crash victims in the area recently. Photo / Mike Scott
The 6pm vigil came a week after a catastrophic collision between two vehicles killed all five occupants on State Highway 3 north of the Waipā District township.
Elderly Whatawhata couple Paul and Lois Grimmer died in one vehicle; young friends Piata Ofufangavalu, Cheyene Love-Mitchell and Suliasi Lefai in the other.
“[Last Tuesday] five souls were taken far too suddenly”, wrote vigil organiser Aimee Coleman White on Facebook, noting the tragedy followed the road deaths of three more from the district last month.
“This is the time we can come together, be united and just show aroha to those who need it right now.”
About 100 people attended tonight’s vigil at Te Awamutu’s Selwyn Park. Photo / Mike Scott
Married father-of-three Leon Kennerley, 49, was killed in a motorbike crash in Kihikihi, south of Te Awamutu, on May 4, and 51-year-old Donna McCauley died – also in a motorbike crash – near Matamata on May 17.
Both Kennerley and McCauley, an engaged mother of two, were from Kihikihi.
Kihikihi motorcycle enthusiast Donna McCauley died in a motorbike crash near Matamata on May 17. Photo / Facebook
And four days before last Tuesday’s tragedy, former Waipā councillor Jim Parlane died in a two-vehicle crash, also on SH3 north of Te Awamutu.
The vigil was about remembering the lives lost, and acknowledging the impact on those who remain, whether they knew the dead, or not, Coleman White said.
“If you’re thinking about [the losses]... you probably need this space, and this closure. I’m pretty confident 50 per cent of the people [will be] there for the same reason... and you should have the right to release those feelings in a safe space, and that’s what tonight is.”
She, too, was nervous at the community reaction when she first posted about the vigil, an idea that came from thinking about the impact of the crashes on first responders like her stepfather, a longtime police officer.
“I was ready to delete my post really fast... because some people might jump on and be like, ′No, this is an awful idea’. And then when I started seeing the comments one after the other, and they were so positive – and I got private messaged by a couple of people that had witnessed the accident, thanking me for organising.”
Jim Parlane pictured in campaign mode, running for Mayor of Waipā in 2004.
Almost 100 people ealier indicated they planned to go to the vigil, and another 386 were “interested”, according to the vigil’s Facebook page.
She understood family of some of those killed were planning to attend, with others asking her to set up a livestream of the event, Coleman White said.
Farewells took place over the long weekend for some of those killed last Tuesday, among 11 dead on Waikato roads in May – the highest in New Zealand for the past two years.
After being together at Te Awamutu College’s Ō-Tāwhao Marae following the crash, 19-year-old friends Love-Mitchell and Otufangavalu were taken to their own marae – Te Kopua in Pokuru for Love-Mitchell and Ngāti Wai, Ngaiotonga, for Otufangavalu for their tangi yesterday, followed by burial.
Paul and Lois Grimmer were taken to their marae – Te Papa-o-Rotu Marae in Whatawhata – on Friday.
A police officer at the scene of last Tuesday's crash which killed five people on State Highway 3 north of Te Awamutu. Photo / Mike Scott
Funeral plans for Lefai haven’t been made public, but family have shared their heartache on social media.
One, who spoke of Lefai as her “son”, wrote on Facebook of the devastating silence since his death, New Zealand-based Tongan news website Kaniva Tonga reported.
“My son it is 2.38am now I just woke up thinking that you are sleeping for work, or you are still staying up gaming. ‘Oiauē! How it happened that you have left me”, she wrote in Tongan.
Her love for him was “overwhelming”, the woman wrote.
“Our home is absolutely silent, my unforgettable son!”
Cherie Howie is an Auckland-based reporter who joined the Herald in 2011. She has been a journalist for more than 20 years and specialises in general news and features.
