Matamata crash victim was 'wonderful' Hastings mother

An officer who attended the fatal crash has made an emotional post on the Waikato Police Facebook page. Photo / File

A Hastings woman killed in a car crash in Matamata on Sunday has been described as a "wonderful sister, wife, daughter, aunty, friend and most importantly a great mother to her children".

Jocelyn Irene Williams, aged 38, was killed after the car she was in rolled into a ditch on State Highway 27 in Matamata on the afternoon of January 7.

She had been travelling with her husband, who was driving, and two children aged 3 and 6 who were all injured but discharged from hospital yesterday.

Yesterday a family member told Hawke's Bay Today there were "no words" for such events.

"We will all miss Jo so much. She was such a wonderful sister, wife, daughter, aunty, friend and most importantly a great mother to her children".

The family were travelling in convoy with Williams' father and his partner when the crash occurred.

A Waikato policeman who attended the crash spoke of the tragedy in an emotional post published on the Waikato Police Facebook page yesterday.

The constable, whose name was withheld to protect his privacy, said he'd had trouble sleeping since attending the crash despite going to many accidents throughout an almost two-decade career in the police force.

Speaking to Williams' father at the scene, he recounted the man asking "My daughter is dead isn't she?"

"Oh hell, how do I react to that? He was teary, and so was I. I don't do tears and I don't do emotion.... up until that point. I think I mumbled "yes she is","

"To be confronted by a dad who has lost his daughter, a husband who has lost his wife, and two kiddies who have lost their mum, it just brought the tragedy home."

A nearby resident on SH27 told reporters he provided assistance at the crash scene after he went to check that his neighbour's cattle had not escaped.

"The car was upside down in the ditch. It had gone through some rails and landed in the drain," he said.

"I gave a bit of assistance while I was there. I helped get a couple of young kiddies out of the car and a gentleman. I then held up a cover until the fire brigade got there to keep them in the shade."

Police said the family were supportive of the constable's message being posted and extended their sincerest condolences and thoughts to all those affected.

Senior Sergeant Pete Van De Wetering said the Waikato police had appealed to everyone to be careful on the roads when travelling through the busy district.

"When things go wrong it affects us, but we still have families intact to help us get through it and in this case, a little support from Facebook friends.

"The victims of road crashes no longer have the same intact families and their lives have been shattered in so many ways, so their pain is far greater. Our hearts go out to this family; we don't want anyone to be in this position."