Nateisha-Kurstyn Pareteoro Hana-Wetere died after a crash near Te Kūiti on July 11. Her 3-year-old son was also in the car but survived. Photo / Dean Purcell
By Sam Sherwood of RNZ
A mother driving home to Auckland with her 3-year-old son in the back seat was killed when a boat and trailer unit broke free from an oncoming vehicle and slammed into their car.
When emergency services arrived, the little boy – who suffered whiplash and bruises – told them his mother was dead and showed them where her phone was so they could contact his family.
A month after the crash that killed Nateisha-Kurstyn Pareteoro Hana-Wetere, 23, her family are appealing for the driver of the black SUV involved to come forward.
Following publication, a witness who was one of the first at the scene told RNZ the driver of the car stayed at the scene and spoke to police. Police, who earlier said they were following positive lines of inquiry in relation to an individual, have since confirmed the driver stayed at the scene and was spoken to.
Hana-Wetere’s brother Te Huia Brown-Hana told RNZ his sister was driving near Te Kūiti on her way home to Auckland after a holiday in New Plymouth on July 11 when the crash happened.
Her 3-year-old son, Brown-Hana said, “had to sit there and watch his mum pass away”.
“And then on top of that, when the emergency services arrived, he jumps out of the car with nobody around him but strangers and tells them his name and his mum’s dead,” he said.
“There’s a point where he shows them her phone to contact her mum.”
Brown-Hana said it was “disheartening” that the other driver was at large.
“I’m not much of an emotional person, but knowing my nephew had to suffer, my sister had to suffer and then my nephew had no one there – that’s broken my heart.
“It just hurts me to know that somebody can just walk away and not give two flying shoots about the child that’s just lost a mother.”
Brown-Hana said his sister was “larger than life”. She was caring, and had a “bubbly” personality.
“She was everything you could have wanted and more in terms of a sibling.
“She always accepted everyone for who they were. She didn’t pass judgment on no one.”
Hana-Wetere’s partner was working in Australia, and she was planning to eventually join him.
Brown-Hana said his sister was in a great place in her life. She had recently moved to Auckland, with her brother helping her pick up furniture and other items for the home.
“She had everything going - she started planning out what she wanted in her life and how she wanted to get there and she was actually doing really well,” he said.
“Her child had anything and everything he could have needed - nothing came before him and nothing came after him. It was only him and him only.”
Brown-Hana said his nephew was constantly asking his dad and others: “Where’s mummy?”
“I tell him ‘mummy’s gone to sleep, my boy. One day you’ll see your mum again. But for the moment, my boy, she’s asleep. She’s too tired.’”
Brown-Hana said he was worried about the emotional toll on the little boy.
“It’s that mental thing that’s going to play on him for the rest of his life. Knowing that at 3 years old he had to watch his mum die and he couldn’t save her.”
He had a message for the driver of the vehicle and wanted them to come forward.
“It takes a real, genuine human being to accept their faults.
“That was a life you took, not just one life, but you stole from two people, my sister who passed and her son that now has to grow up without a mother. You could have done the right thing and just pulled over and checked.
“Imagine your son, your moko, your nephew, your brother, 3 years old, sitting there having to watch your whānau, his mum die. Come on, we all got a heart. We all got a heart, we all make mistakes, but what really makes a human being of yourself is being able to accept you’re wrong, being able to accept the consequences.”
Brown-Hana said the whānau had experienced an array of emotions in the past month, including sorrow that no one had been held responsible.
“It’s unfair that we are robbed of her grace and we don’t have any answers to why or how or what’s going to happen to who stole it, who stole her existence.
“All we can do is rally around together as a whānau and just hope eventually at some point we get an answer.”
A police spokesperson said on Monday that inquiries into the crash were ongoing.
“Police are following positive lines of inquiry regarding an individual and will look to speak with them in due course.
“Police are not seeking anyone else at this time.”
Detective Sergeant Harry Hodgson earlier said police wanted to hear from anyone who witnessed the crash or anyone who saw a southbound black SUV towing the boat before the crash.
Police also wanted to hear from any witnesses who left the crash before emergency services arrived, or anyone who drove past the crash immediately after it had happened.
“This includes the driver of a white ute that was heading south, and a white flat-deck ute with a large blue box on the rear, and a Nissan SUV, both heading north,” Hodgson said.
Anyone who had dashcam footage or was travelling in either direction on State Highway 3 between Ōtorohanga and Piopio between 11am and 11.30am on July 11 should also contact the police, he said.
Anyone with information can contact police online or via 105 and quote reference number 250711/6167.
- RNZ