This year's road toll so far is nearly on a par with the same period in 2017.
On the afternoon of March 15 last year Helen Morris made a routine phone call to her daughter to arrange plans for dinner that evening.
She had no idea it would be the last time she would speak to her.
Two minutes after the pair spoke her daughter, Tahl Southwick, was killed when her car collided with a truck and trailer unit on Farndon Rd near Clive.
The crash investigator thought it likely the 18-year-old had been distracted by taking the call but a coronial inquiry has found driver error caused the crash.
Coroner David Robinson's findings, released to Hawke's Bay Today yesterday, said alcohol, drugs, speed and cellphone use did not cause the crash.
Tahl failed to control her car, which caused her to drift left and then over-correct before losing control and colliding with an oncoming truck, the findings read.
"She may have been distracted by the cellphone but, contrary to the conclusion reached by the crash investigator, the evidence is not sufficient for me to reach a conclusion as to whether that was the likely cause of her inattention," Robinson said.
A coroner has found that the car crash that killed Tahl Southwick, 18, on Farndon Rd in March last year was caused by driver error. Photo / Supplied
Tahl had been in Napier catching up with friends that day and had been running late for dinner with her mother after making a last-minute decision to get her nails done with a friend.
Morris had phoned her while she was on the road, thinking she had already arrived home, and said she initially thought she had caused the crash.
"She would have picked up my call because she knew she was running late and she knew we were supposed to be meeting for dinner.
"When I knew what time the accident was I thought 'oh my God, I've caused her accident' but I didn't."
Phone records indicated Tahl received a 44-second call from her mother at 5.32pm, which ended normally.
Data from the truck showed the ignition was turned off at 5.34pm, probably after the truck came to a rest after the crash. However it was not known if the cellphone data and truck data were in sync.
The coroner could not conclude that Tahl was distracted by her cellphone; the available evidence indicating the crash happened up to two minutes and 15 seconds after the call ended.
The cellphone use was "only incidental" and the loss of control appeared to have arisen from inattention, he said.
"The case stands as a stark reminder to motorists of the need to ensure they remain attentive to the task of driving, and maintain proper control of their vehicle at all times."
A memorial cross for Tahl at the scene of the crash on Farndon Rd.
Morris said no amount of time, due process or even support could fill the gaping hole in her life once filled with an only child.
"You can go through every single process, you can get your head around every single thing, but at the end of the day you don't have your daughter with you."
When asked if she thought any good could come from such tragedies, she said "always".
"It doesn't mean you don't feel the hurt and the grief. The good can come in the way that it's made a whole group of her friends and young people be confronted with the vulnerability of life and how precious that is.
"It can end in a moment, in a split second. It maybe just makes people think twice about how they drive, especially when they go down that road."
She hoped Tahl's death would remind people of how precious life is and prompt them to tell their loved ones they loved them.
"It's about us loving our kids and valuing every moment we have with them, the good and the bad."
