School to honour boy

Kahutara School will be closed on Monday in honour of a pupil who died in one of two serious quad-bike incidents this week.

Shane William White, 10, died on a Kahutara Rd farm about 10am on Wednesday. He was found by his father and cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) attempts failed to revive him.

Students have been invited to attend Shane's funeral instead of returning to school for the first day of term on Monday. "Out of respect for Shane and his family there will be no school on Monday 15th Oct 2012," was posted on the Kahutara School Facebook page.

"Students attending the service please wear full school uniform."

Meanwhile, a woman was in critical condition last night after a quad-bike incident near Auckland on Thursday.

Police said the woman, 38, was thought to have been visiting from Australia and had been in the country only a few days.

Chief Coroner Neil MacLean said safety messages around the use of quad bikes could prevent unnecessary deaths.