Bobby Leitch was a hundred metres from home when his car spun out of control and hit a stone wall.
The 24-year-old was not wearing his seatbelt - a bad habit his mother had often nagged him about - and died.
His aunt Joan Leitch said it was "such a
waste" to lose the "big man with a big heart", known for his dancefloor moves and infectious laugh.
"It was one of those really nasty ones [accidents] where it was so close [to home] and he just didn't make it."
The crash happened near the intersection of Redoubt and Hilltop Rds in Manukau about 1.20am.
"It appears that the back [of the car] has gone out to the right and he's come out to the left and over-corrected and slid for a distance into the stone wall," said Constable Phillip Savill of the Counties-Manukau serious crash unit.
Mr Leitch grew up in Christchurch but moved to Auckland a couple of years ago to work as a welder for his uncle Peter, his aunt said.
He and girlfriend Roxanne had recently moved into their Redoubt Rd flat with a new puppy.
Mr Savill said speed appeared to be a factor in the crash. The car smelled of alcohol, but police would not know if Mr Leitch had been drinking until the blood sample was returned.
Residents of the property the wall was on said it was a terrible spot for accidents. Lorraine Green said it was the second fatality in the four years they had lived there and one of at least a dozen crashes they had seen.
There was a deceptive bend on the road and "if you're going too fast from that point on you could lose it".
After residents petitioned the Manukau City Council, the speed limit was dropped from 70km/h to 60km/h last year.
