KEY POINTS:
Police were last night speaking to a logging truck driver over the horrific death of a "vibrant" 13-year-old Tauranga girl outside her high school.
But they were not saying whether they believed the driver was behind the wheel of the truck that hit Breeze Matarina Brunton just seconds after her older brother dropped her off opposite Mt Maunganui College on Wednesday.
Senior Sergeant Ian Campion told the Herald last night that a truck driver had been in touch with investigators since the accident.
"I've been contacted by a driver, I've had a phone call ... I can't say any more than that."
Mr Campion would not say if the driver had called saying he thought he might have been involved in the accident. He said that despite their grief, the Brunton family were not blaming anyone, but he thought they were "agonising" over why Breeze died.
Officers began the day yesterday faced with the difficult task of identifying the logging truck involved from among hundreds that use the road daily.
Police have obtained video footage and are homing in on the places the truck could have been going, including the Port of Tauranga and Carter Holt Harvey, but it could take some time before they know if they have the right person.
"There are a significant number of log truck operators ranging from large companies through to owner-operators," Mr Campion said.
He had earlier expressed his surprise that no drivers had contacted the police.
"While we have had contact from a number of logging truck operators, as in businesses, I'm surprised that we have yet to hear from individual logging truck drivers themselves who used that stretch of road between 7.45am and 8.15am."
The logging truck industry was quite "communicative" and it was unlikely drivers were not aware of the accident, he said.
Outside Mt Maunganui College, just metres from the crash scene, flowers and tributes surround a wooden cross with the words: "Rest in peace Breeze."
Above it, the school's events noticeboard reads the same.
The college is in mourning - many students witnessed the accident's aftermath while travelling on a bus that arrived at the school just as Breeze was killed.
Principal Terry Collett said even the school's counselling and support staff needed trauma counselling because they, too, had been involved at the scene.
He said two staff members travelled with Breeze's body to Putaruru yesterday.
Buses will this morning carry students to the town's Pikitu Marae, where Breeze's body lies, awaiting her tangi tomorrow.
Port of Tauranga chief executive Mark Cairns said staff would assist police in any way they could to find the driver.
Breeze's death took the 2008 road toll in the Western Bay to three.
* Logging truck drivers and anyone who witnessed the fatality but has not yet contacted police are asked to call Greerton station on (07) 578-3460.
