Detective Senior Sergeant Kevan Verry talks to the media on December 29 after the motorcyclist's death in Wellington early that morning. Photo / File
Detective Senior Sergeant Kevan Verry talks to the media on December 29 after the motorcyclist's death in Wellington early that morning. Photo / File
The motorcyclist killed in a crash when an elderly woman allegedly drove the wrong way on a Wellington motorway in the early hours of December 29 can now be named.
The 25-year-old victim was Samuel Jackson-Seligman-Lemaire, also know by friends as Evak.
Friends and loved ones have poured out tributesfor Jackson-Seligman-Lemaire on Facebook, telling the Wellington man to "fly high".
A 72-year-old woman has been charged with careless driving causing death after the tragic incident.
She appeared in a wheelchair in the Wellington District Court on Monday and was granted interim name suppression.
"Evak rest easy YOZA gone but never forgotten g," one woman wrote.
"Rest easy brother vak (Sam) gone way to soon brother," said another.
Detective Senior Sergeant Kevan Verry said a motorist not involved in the crash had noticed a woman driving south on the northbound lanes of the motorway near Johnsonville that morning.
He said the warning call was made "about simultaneously" with the crash itself, and did not give police time to intercept.
Police said fatigue was a factor in the crash.
"In this incident, the driver originated from an area a large number of hours away from Wellington," Verry said in a statement after the crash.
The woman, who has not entered a plea to the charge yet, will reappear in court later this month.
