The scene of the crash which killed Eleshia McKinstry, inset, and Jerle Jeschke. Photos / Greg Bowker, supplied
Two young women killed in a high-speed car crash were believed to be returning home after being hair models for friends at a show in Whangarei.
Eleshia McKinstry and Merle Jeschke, both 22, died at the scene of the accident near the notorious accident blackspot Dome Valley about 3pm on
Monday.
They were understood to have been hair models for two hairdresser friends who were passengers in the car when it crossed the centre line on SH1 and hit a BMW at a combined speed of 200km/h.
Constable Caroline Ludford, of the Waitemata serious crash unit, said the force of the impact caused "carnage" when wreckage from both cars was flung in all directions across the road.
A northbound motorcyclist following the BMW was left with nowhere to go and hit Miss McKinstry's car.
Yesterday Miss McKinstry's mother, Shereena Rolland, paid tribute to her daughter via Facebook.
"My darling angel - you came to me when I needed you, you taught me how to love, be patient, show compassion, how to grow & how to learn."
She wrote that her daughter would be "forever in my heart and walking beside me day by day. We will miss you forever love mum x x x x".
The road was closed for five hours while crash investigators cleared the scene.
Two other women were seriously hurt in the crash and were flown by rescue helicopter to Auckland City Hospital.
One was in a stable but critical condition yesterday and the other was stable. Another person involved in the accident was transferred to Middlemore Hospital.
The district's Auckland councillor, Penny Webster, called for improvements to the road after the accident. She said the proposed Puhoi-to-Wellsford highway extension would drastically lower the death toll in the area.
