A BEACH holiday turned to tragedy when Tauranga teenager Daisy Fernandez died yesterday after being struck by a motorcycle driven by a 15-year-old boy on the beach at Glinks Gully on New Year's Eve.
Another girl was seriously injured in the collision and the motorcyclist received minor injuries.
The two 13-year-old girls
were holidaying at Glinks Gully, about 17 kilometres south-west of Dargaville, when the motocross bike - which witnesses claimed was travelling without lights - hit them as they sat on Ripiro Beach at about 9.30pm.
It is understood the overturned bike's uncontrolled revving as it lay on its throttle in the sand alerted nearby bach owners to the accident. A doctor and three nurses holidaying in the west coast settlement were among the first at the scene.
Landing probes placed on the beach allowed the Northland Electricity rescue helicopter to land on the sand.
Witnesses said it took paramedics more than an hour to stabilise Daisy before they could airlift her to Whangarei Hospital around 11.30pm. She died yesterday morning.
The second girl was taken to Whangarei Hospital where her condition yesterday was described as stable. She is understood to have a broken leg and a smashed hip.
Dargaville police sergeant, Jonathan Tier, said the motorcyclist would be referred to Youth Aid once police had completed investigating the accident. The annual Glinks Gully New Year's Day beach races and week-long beach activities were cancelled out of respect for the Fernandez family, who have been coming to the Kaipara holiday spot for decades.
Yesterday, flowers placed by members of the stunned community marked the spot where the collision took place. Daisy's name was spelt out in shells and RIP was carved into the sand.
Meanwhile, holidaymakers said several complaints had been made to the police in the past week over the speed and erratic driving of some vehicles on the beach.
