Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Police name third person killed in a fatal Desert Rd crash

Newstalk ZB
20 Jul, 2016 05:48 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
A car which collided with a truck, killing three people, on State Highway 1 is believed to have crossed the centre line. The crash occurred on the Desert Rd, on the central plateau, at Rangipo, north of Rangipo Intake Rd, about 7.15am.

Taupo Police have named the third person killed in a fatal car crash on the Desert Road on Monday morning.

Arshpreet Kaur Sidhu, 23, a woman in New Zealand on a working visa, was travelling in the back seat of the car when it collided with a truck at about 7am.

Police had already named the two other passengers who died.

Monalisa Alofaifo, 20 was a Samoan national with New Zealand residency and Twinkle Ansal, 21, an Indian national who was in the country on a student visa.

Walking towards the morgue hoping that the body I am Identifying won't be yours . Seeing you lying down on the bed...

Posted by Joban Sidhu on Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Sidhu's sister, Joban Sidhu, shared a heartfelt message to her sibling on social media.

"Walking towards [the] morgue hoping that the body I am identifying won't be yours. Seeing you lying down on [the] bed, cold and calm, hoping that you will just get up and say: 'I was joking'.

"If we would have known what was going to happen, we would never let you go. You were a great sister and an amazing friend - a beautiful person with a beautiful heart and great soul who cared about the whole world."

Sidhu's sister said although she now knew her sibling was gone, she still hoped for her to knock on the door.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Still telling my heart that it's just a bad nightmare...Love you forever.''

Sidhu's death has touched many within the Punjabi community both in New Zealand and overseas.

A friend told the SBS Punjabi radio station that Sidhu was raised by her grandparents and had been planning to file for their visa from her first salary.

Grieving friends have also paid tribute to Twinkle Ansal, who was described as an intelligent, caring and fun-loving guy.

"He was a hardworking young man and he's also a type of person that anyone would [want] to be friends with because he knows how to joke around and keep you company,'' one told the Herald.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The friend said the 21-year-old loved to socialise with his friends and was always up for spending time with them when he was free.

The 21-year-old man who was driving the car, also an Indian national on a student visa, remains in a critical condition in Waikato Hospital.

The truck driver was not injured.

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

'Chaos': How storm crews tackled a 'dangerous' start to the year

02 May 06:00 PM
Rotorua Daily Post

'Profound betrayal': Couple lose $165k in 'callous' business-share scam by trusted friend

02 May 05:00 PM
Premium
Rotorua Daily Post

'Enormous opportunity': FTA opens door for more kiwifruit sales

02 May 12:00 AM

Sponsored

Endangered bird gets another chance

21 Apr 02:30 AM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

'Chaos': How storm crews tackled a 'dangerous' start to the year
Rotorua Daily Post

'Chaos': How storm crews tackled a 'dangerous' start to the year

A behind‑the‑scenes glimpse at the work that keeps everything ticking in wild weather.

02 May 06:00 PM
'Profound betrayal': Couple lose $165k in 'callous' business-share scam by trusted friend
Rotorua Daily Post

'Profound betrayal': Couple lose $165k in 'callous' business-share scam by trusted friend

02 May 05:00 PM
Premium
Premium
'Enormous opportunity': FTA opens door for more kiwifruit sales
Rotorua Daily Post

'Enormous opportunity': FTA opens door for more kiwifruit sales

02 May 12:00 AM


Endangered bird gets another chance
Sponsored

Endangered bird gets another chance

21 Apr 02:30 AM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • NZME Digital Performance Marketing
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2026 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP