A Hastings mother and father had every parent's worst nightmare when a police officer arrived yesterday to tell them their son had been killed in a crash near Havelock North.
Robert Joseph ("Chicken") Dunn (pictured, right), 26, died when his Nissan Pajero left Te Aute Rd about 12.25am and crashed into
a creek near Gilpin Rd, just east of Havelock North.
He lived with his parents, Carol and Robert, in Bledisloe Place, Raureka, where his body was expected to arrive late this afternoon.
It will be taken tomorrow for a tangi at Te Kahu o Te Rangi Marae, Mohaka, ending with a service on Wednesday.
The crash also left seriously injured a second man, one of two brothers in the vehicle Mr Dunn had known most of his life.
The three had lived only a few hundred metres apart in Raureka, and went through school together at Ebbett Park, Hastings Intermediate and Hastings Boys' High.
Mr Dunn's parents were just wondering whether their son would be home in time to go to work with them when Hastings police iwi liaison officer John Tangaere arrived to tell them of the tragedy, at about 3.30am.
They said their son had worked with them in the horticultural industry almost since leaving school. He had for a while worked on a farm and done some training at a cadet training farm at Taratahi, south of Masterton.
His parents were at home last night after the close-knit family and friends gathered at a service in the Hawke's Bay Hospital chapel, which was also attended by Mr Tangaere, 16 hours after he conveyed the news.
"He leaves behind two heartbroken parents," his mother commented.
