Police name siblings Ali Sina Suleiman and Samar Suleiman as people killed in Shannon milk truck crash

Two siblings died in the crash between their car and a Fonterra milk tanker near Shannon, south of Palmerston North. Photo / Google

Police have revealed the names of a brother and sister killed in a crash with a milk tanker in Shannon earlier this month.

They were Ali Sina Suleiman, also known as Ali Sina Ghulum Abbas, 20, and his 24-year-old sister Samar Suleiman, also known as Najma Ghulum Abbas.

An investigation into the crash is continuing.

A Fonterra tanker was involved in the crash, a company spokesman confirmed to the Herald.

The tanker driver was moderately injured and was being supported by the company.

“Emergency services are in attendance, and we are assisting police with their inquiries,” the spokesman said. “One of our tankers was involved in a crash with another vehicle north of Shannon this afternoon.

“There was smoke coming from the car too. Then it burst into flames. The flames were as high as the tanker.”

One of the first witnesses to the scene was Erin Wilson who told the Herald it “didn’t look real”.

“I could see the accident from very far away since it is a straight [road] on a rise. My eyes couldn’t comprehend it until the truck in front of me put on his emergency blinkers. It didn’t look real,” she said.

She said that stretch of road has always been “shocking”. Willson was in a car crash in that area 18 months ago with all her children in the car. Nobody was injured, but her car was written off.

“My theory is since it is a straight road people check their phones [or] don’t pay attention. When we got hit, she said ‘I didn’t even see you’. I was like ‘how?’”

Vita Molyneux is a Wellington-based journalist who covers breaking news and stories from the capital. She has been a journalist since 2018 and joined the Herald in 2021.