Maree Schafer, 18, died in 2013 when she was a passenger in a car that was street racing near Napier.
Maree Schafer, 18, died in 2013 when she was a passenger in a car that was street racing near Napier.
The mother of a boy racing victim wants harsher laws than the ones proposed, so no other family has to live without their loved one because of something so “dumb”.
It was February 19, 2013. Eighteen-year-old Maree Schafer was excited to start a hairdressing course at the Eastern Instituteof Technology the next day.
Three cars – a silver Holden Commodore, a blue Ford Falcon and a grey Nissan Skyline were street racing along Awatoto Rd towards the intersection with Meeanee and Sandy Rds, just outside Napier.
The Commodore continued through the intersection at more than 180km/h before the driver lost control of the car, slid sideways across the road and crashed into a tree.
There were three occupants in that car. One was Maree. She died at the scene.
The drivers of the three cars and another passenger would all survive.
After midnight, Maree’s mother, Coreen, heard a knock on the door. She looked outside but didn’t recognise the car that sat out front. She decided not to answer it.
“It was a knock that you’ll never get out of your head. And I knew I had to get up for this knock.
“As soon as I opened the door and I saw the police, I knew. I fell to the floor. I screamed. That was the end of my world right at that moment,” she said.
When she learned how her daughter had died, she was livid.
“I was so angry that this stupid boyfriend at the time and her best friend decided it would be a cool idea to get into the cars and have a race... I was really pissed off. I can’t describe it, it was dumb.
“I’ve learned to live with the anger, but I still get really angry when I see the crap that goes on on the TV. And I think, well, I hope no one knocks on your parents’ door,” she told The Front Page.
Maree Schafer was excited to start a hairdressing course at the Eastern Institute of Technology.
‘They think they’re invincible’
Not only did Coreen and her family have to live through the pain of losing Maree, but they had to endure the court process that followed.
Police charged four young men with racing causing death and racing causing injury.
They would be the first in the country to be sentenced under new legislation targeting boy racers with the Land Transport (Enforcement Powers) Amendment Act and the Sentencing (Vehicle Confiscation) Amendment Act.
They were all sentenced to two years and three months’ imprisonment for their involvement and disqualified from driving for four years.
The laws took effect in 2009. But, 16 years later, boy racers still make headlines.
Riot police closed in on up to 1000 attendees of a boy racer meet-up in Levin and Palmerston North last month. Several people were injured and one young woman had her legs run over.
If Coreen could sit one of those involved down, she would tell them to “stop being a smartass”.
“I’d show them a photo of Maree’s car first, then a photo of my daughter, then say, ‘this could possibly be you’, then tell them what happened. Because being smart doesn’t save your life.
“They think they’re invincible, you know? And then the dumb people who stand there and watch them. It’s an accident waiting to happen, but something needs to be done,” she said.
The crash scene where Maree Schafer was killed after being a rear-seat passenger in a Holden racing with a Ford in Napier.
Australian laws would imprison spectators
In 2023, Queensland’s then-Police Minister Mark Ryan introduced a slew of new laws tackling what they call “hoons”.
They include offences for participating in or being a spectator at a group hooning activity, organising, promoting, or encouraging others to participate, and possession of items such as false number plates.
Those who upload footage online of themselves performing burnouts can face five years in jail. They call this “posting and boasting”.
“I don’t know why we don’t have harsher laws. To be quite honest, I think that would be a good idea.
“If she [Maree] hadn’t died, I would’ve been marching her down to the police station and handing her in for being part of it. That would’ve been her consequence. I think parents need to get harder as well. Do they know what their kids are doing on Saturday nights? Have they taken Mummy’s car out for a drive?
“I just want something done. I just want respect for Maree. She deserves respect. I don’t want her death to be in vain, watching all the other dickheads out there just getting away with it,” Coreen said.
Government ‘open’ to hearing views on even tougher laws
Last month, the Government announced it was “turning up the heat” on boy racers and fleeing drivers.
Potential new laws would give police greater powers to temporarily close roads, with a maximum of a $1000 infringement and a $3000 court fine imposed on anyone failing to leave those areas.
The new powers and associated infringement penalty would apply to bystanders as well as those participating in “anti-social road behaviour”.
Police Minister Mark Mitchell told The Front Page the proposed legislation was in response to police reports that suggest some anti-social road use events are growing in frequency and sophistication.
“We recognise that social media coverage and planning can spur on these events. We are open to hearing everyone’s views on tougher laws when the bill opens for public consultation,” he said.
Coreen wants kids to just “grow up”.
“Stop acting like smartasses. Get your s*** together... Get an education, get a job, do something with your life. Don’t waste it on a car, and for Christ’s sake, don’t kill anybody.
“Time is precious. Don’t waste your time, not on a street race. It’s not worth it. And one day, the cops will catch you.
“Maybe it’ll take for one of their family members or for them to kill one of their family members to realise that it wasn’t really such a great idea.”
More than a decade has passed, but the memories are still clear. Maree’s delicious pumpkin soup, being late to school every day (despite living across the road), some disastrous driving lessons, and her compassion for her sisters.
“But, what I really miss about Maree, is Maree. Her smile, her laugh, her love for everybody. Maree is a constant in my life, even if she is not here.”
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.
