A man who died after his ute crashed into a garage and burst into flames was Kenneth David Falconer, 71, from Tapanui.
Emergency services said they responded to a “well-involved” vehicle fire in Tapanui, west Otago, just after 3.30pm last Friday.
A man mowing his lawn said he saw the
vehicle crash into his neighbour’s garage and then watched as firefighters tried to pull a man from the burning vehicle.
“I was mowing the lawns, my wife was sitting on the garden seat, talking to a neighbour,” he said.
He said firefighters tried to pull the man from the burning vehicle but it was “just too hot”.
