Leukaemia patient loses life in Warkworth crash

Merryl Robinson, of Tutukaka, loved nature and enjoyed escaping to the bush with a pack on her back.
However, earlier this year the 79-year-old discovered she had leukaemia, and that put her hiking, tramping and tree planting days to a stop.
Her family believed it was inevitable she would die from the disease, but instead her life was taken in a car crash on Monday - while on her way to Auckland for a cancer check-up.
It was the third vehicle-related death of a Whangarei resident to happen near Warkworth this week, following the death of Isobel Porter, 31, and her 13-year-old daughter, Mauri Molia, on Sunday.
Mrs Robinson and her partner, Brian Walsh, were driving near Warkworth on State Highway One when their van and a vehicle driven by another woman collided in wet conditions around 3.30pm.
Both drivers - Mr Walsh and the woman in her early 20s _ were taken to hospital but both were discharged a day later.
Mr Walsh said he felt lucky to be alive. He is now recuperating at the Tutukaka home he shared with Mrs Robinson for 10 years.
Mrs Robinson's husband died about 15 years ago from a blood disorder.
Mrs Robinson's daughter, Denise Robinson, said she had chosen to remember her mother by her hilarious stories rather than by the tragic incident that took her life.
"All our lives have to end so I want her laughter to be kept alive," Ms Robinson said.
One such story arose from when Mrs Robinson first married.
She tricked her father into thinking she had a green thumb - as shown by the substantial number of beans in her garden.
But she had earlier bought the beans from a shop and sewn them on to stalks with green thread.
Ms Robinson was also proud of her mother's life-long association with the Department of Conservation.
Over the years Mrs Robinson voluntarily planted thousands of trees for the organisation and travelled overseas to monitor birds.
Her family will hold a private funeral tomorrow.
• A three-year-old Whangarei boy critically injured in Sunday's double-fatality crash near Warkworth is still critically ill in Auckland's Starship Hospital.
The preschooler's mother, Isobel Porter, and his sister, Mauri Molia, 13, died after their car allegedly lost control, crossed the centre line and collided with another vehicle.
Ms Porter's partner, who was driving, was seriously injured but is in a stable condition. The other car driver was unharmed. Ms Porter's family could not be contacted.