Christchurch man tells of 'blanking out' before crash into sea that took his wife

Police divers at the scene of the crash in Sumner. Picture/Christchurch Star

Bruce Imrie has told of blanking out moments before his car left the road and fell into the sea in a crash that killedhis wife on Saturday.

Imrie, who was driving, and his wife Maureen were just five minutes from their home in Mt Pleasant, Christchurch, when he "blanked out", Imrie told Fairfax.

Witnesses to the crash on Saturday afternoon said the car drove off Main Rd in Clifton, broke straight through a barrier and headed down a bank into the sea.

Passersby rushed to help and pulled Imrie, 77, out of the car. But a strong undertow swept the car out to sea with his wife still trapped.

A witness told the Herald the section of the beach where the car entered the water had a notorious undercurrent and other people at the scene said they saw the car moving out to sea before it went out of sight.

The body of Maureen Imrie, 73, was recovered along with the car by the police dive squad on Sunday.

A distraught Imrie told Fairfax his wife was his "everything".

"It was a wonderful relationship . . . you don't stay together if you don't love each other."

Maureen was "loved by everyone", Imrie told Fairfax. "She never put herself first."

The couple had two children and two grandchildren.