"She passed over to the other side innocent. Let's just hope that there won't be any more tragedies such as this."
Rangimaria's body is at Maraenui Marae Te Whanau-a-Apanui, with a service planned for Thursday morning.
Police are still hunting the driver of the vehicle in the alleged hit-and-run, including following up a tip that it looked someone had washed their car down about 4am at a service station just one block from Goring St.
Rangimaria had attended Opotiki College last year before moving to Edgecumbe.
Opotiki College acting principal Bruce Dale said Rangimaria had been outside the school hall earlier in the evening to watch people arrive for the school ball.
There was an after-ball function, monitored by police, but he did not know where in Opotiki it was held or whether Rangimaria attended.
"I don't think so but I don't know. My understanding was she was with family and a few friends."
Police could not confirm whether they thought alcohol was involved in the incident.
Inspector Willie Taylor said a full police investigation would go ahead.
"We do know that she was attempting to cross the road; we're unsure what condition she was in while she was doing that because we're still speaking to witnesses."
Detective Senior Sergeant Greg Standen said police were focusing on identifying witnesses who may have information about the vehicle.
Police were also talking to a number of people to establish the movements of Rangimaria on Saturday night and early Sunday morning and the circumstances that led to her being on Goring St.
"We encourage everyone's focus to remain on helping us to identify the vehicle and its driver.
"Any information may be valuable to the investigation."
Mr Standen said no debris from a vehicle was found at the scene so the vehicle involved may not necessarily have any significant or noticeable damage.
Edgecumbe College principal Louw Olivier said a trauma team was supporting staff and students.
