Families pay tribute to crash victims

The scene of the crash.

The driver of a car which rolled 600m off a rural road killing him and his passenger has been described as a loving and caring person by his sister.

Clarence Collier, 40 of Bridge Pa, and Bruce Cardie, 52, of Flaxmere, died when their car left Burma Rd off SH2 near the settlement of Te Hauke.

Their wrecked Honda car was found by a farm worker on Monday and police believed the crash occurred on Sunday night. Police released the names of the two men yesterday.

Mr Collier was found dead in the car and Mr Cardie had been thrown out and was found some metres from the vehicle, police said.

Mr Collier's sister, Hinemoa Collier, said her brother, a Bridge Pa-based horticultural developer, was "a loving and caring person".

"My brother would go out of his way to do anything for anyone," Ms Collier said.

"He loved his community and the people in it."

Mr Cardie was described by family as "a much-loved son, brother, uncle and friend".

Road policing Sergeant Kevin Stewart said police recovered shearing gear halfway down the hill at the scene of the crash.

Police would have to wait for post mortem results before it could be determined if alcohol was a factor in the cause of the crash, Mr Stewart said.

The Serious Crash Unit was investigating.

The crash was on an unsealed part of Burma Rd where it ran alongside steep farmland without barriers.