Death of neighbour in car crash 'great shock'

The two women's car smashed head-on into another vehicle while travelling the wrong way in the southbound lanes of the Waikato Expressway in what police say was a case of 'driver inattention'. Photo / Christine Cornege

A neighbour of an elderly woman killed in a Waikato head-on collision says she was a private person whose death was a terrible shock.

Eunice May Griffiths was driving on the Waikato Expressway on Tuesday with a woman passenger when the accident occurred, killing them both.

It's thought the women entered the southbound lanes at the Ohinewai interchange and drove about 800m on the wrong side of the road before the collision with another car.

Residents of the Kimihia retirement complex where Mrs Griffiths lived were called together and told of the tragedy before they heard the news elsewhere.

A neighbour said she last saw Mrs Griffiths on Monday morning when she was putting the rubbish out.

"I was only asking her how she was and so forth. She used to come in and get hubby to open bottles and carry stuff and that sort of thing but that's all ... She was a very private person."

The neighbour didn't know who the passenger was. "We were all called in yesterday, into the main hospital, and all told about it. It was terrible. Everybody was shocked because you see someone go out and not to come home."

She said Mrs Griffiths was a quiet lady who kept to herself. She thought she had at least two sons, possibly in Auckland and the South Island.

"She was a great neighbour as far as I was concerned."

Waikato road policing manager Leo Tooman said the accident appeared to have been caused by driver inattention. He reminded drivers of the importance of keeping left - especially with increased traffic flows during the Rugby World Cup.

The other driver, 32-year-old Aucklander Christian Travis, was yesterday in a stable condition.