“Sandra’s presence within our small team was invaluable, and her professionalism and warmth left a lasting impact on all who had the privilege of working alongside her. Her loss has left us deeply shocked and saddened, and we are navigating this together.
“Our thoughts are with Sandra’s family and friends at this difficult time.”
A 60-year-old woman was killed in the crash and a teenage boy - was critically injured. Photo / George Heard
The Serious Crash Unit is now trying to determine why one car was on the wrong side of the road.
“The road is reasonably straight so we wouldn’t call it a high-risk road,” Cooper told the Herald.
“Every road is difficult to navigate if you’re concentrating on something else, at this stage we can’t rule out the road as a factor but it’s not a difficult stretch of road.”
Cooper pointed out this was the 14th road fatality on the district’s rural roads since January.
He called the toll “horrendous”.
“The amount of trauma it’s caused families in rural Canterbury, they’re suffering,” Cooper said.
“Crashes like this one are all preventable. It’s an annual message, but drivers need to take the act of driving seriously.”
