An Auckland church is in mourning after a “tragic accident” claimed the life of one of its members.
About 8.55am on March 11, a car hit two people sitting outside the William Souter Espresso cafe in Forrest Hill.
One person was taken to hospital in a critical condition, where they died from their injuries. Another two people sustained moderate injuries.
The victim has been identified as Sarah Clark. The Windsor Park Baptist Church posted a tribute to her on Facebook, calling her a “dear colleague and friend”.
“Today is a deeply sad day for our Windsor Park community,” the church wrote last night.
“Sarah faithfully served on our staff team for more than seven years and had been part of the Windsor Park church family for many decades, serving in various leadership capacities.”
The church said Clark, who worked as the manager of the Windsor Park LifeCare Trust, will be remembered for her deep faith, leadership and friendship, along with “the genuine care she showed to so many”.
Lead pastor Grant Harris said the outpouring of grief from the community reflects the giving, kind and compassionate person she was.
Clark changed her career path to work at the trust because she believed she could make a difference in people’s lives and care for them, Harris told the Herald.
“I think in her honour, we will do everything that we can to bring Sarah back to her family and to her circles as well.”
He recognised that long-term help would be needed beyond the next few weeks.
“It’s changed their family, and we’ll offer every care and support that we can for them, obviously, for their kids who have lost a mum as young teenagers. You can’t imagine how hard that is.”
Many offers of support for the family have been made, Harris said.
“If everybody that had offered a meal provided a meal yesterday and today, we’d be feeding half the North Shore.”
Church members will grieve together and support one another, he said.
“Ultimately, our faith does hold and sustain us. It’s the faith that Sarah had as well. She would want us to do that.
“I think the church at its best is when we are caring for people that are hurting. So I really think that our church and the wider church will be amazing at this time.”
The situation was “super tragic”, he said.
Earlier, cafe owner Paige Sun said she and a barista were inside the cafe when the accident happened.
She said a mother and her high school-aged daughter, who were regular customers, were struck while sitting on chairs outside with their small dog.
Photos from the scene showed a hatchback crashed into the front glass window.
Sun said the driver was also a regular at the cafe.
The pet dog had its hip dislocated and is now recovering.
The Windsor Park Baptist Church said their hearts ache for Clark’s husband and children after their “devastating loss”.
“She first met her husband Cam through our youth ministry, and together they have invested deeply in the life of this community,” it wrote.
“Even as we hold onto the hope that Sarah is now with the Lord, we grieve deeply with those who loved her.”
The church added Clark’s daughter “thankfully sustained only minor injuries”.
To comfort those grieving their loss, the church’s auditorium will open tonight at 7pm for a quiet time of prayer and reflection.
“Please continue to hold the Clark family, and one another, in prayer.”
Harris said “what comes after” would be worked out with Clark’s family over the next few days.
The fatal incident was two weeks after a car smashed into another Auckland cafe moments after its owner closed the doors.
The crash on February 23 at Columbus Glen Innes happened when a woman mistook her car accelerator for the brake and smashed through the store’s glass doors.
It wasn’t the first time the cafe had been struck by a car, co-owner Sudhakar Bacharam earlier told the Herald.
In 2019, just six months after Bacharam took over the store, a customer crashed into the business after accidentally pushing the accelerator, instead of the brake, Bacharam said.