Students mourn death of classmate

Students at Rotorua Lakes High School are struggling to cope with the loss of their much-loved classmate Timoti Anderson-Brown.
The 16-year-old died in a car crash on Thursday, on his way with family members to pick up a headstone for the grave of his mother, Wiki Brown, who died of cancer a year ago.
Timoti was a passenger in a van, being driven by his sister, which collided with a truck on an icy State Highway 5 near Fitzgerald Glade.
Lakes High principal Bruce Walker said staff and students were supporting each other through this difficult time.
"It is a huge tragedy here at school," he said. "Timoti was a very popular and well-known student."
The school held an assembly yesterday morning in memory of Timoti.
Mr Walker said it was tough for everyone at the school to come to terms with the loss.
 
 Timoti had a lead role in the school's kapa haka group and the group was coming to terms with having to perform without him in this weekend's Te Arawa Secondary Schools Kapa Haka regionals. They were likely to dedicate their performance to Timoti.
The school is also having its school ball tonight and although Timoti would not have been going, Mr Walker said the students there would be missing him.
Timoti played rugby, softball and league. He was a keen musician and achieved success in several competitions.
His band Soul Rustaz won the Rotorua regional competition of the Smokefree Pacifica Beats 2008.
This year, his band Soleflex came third in the regional Smokefree Rockquest competition.
Timoti's music teacher, Chris Pasco, said he was a talented musician.
"As a guitarist, he never wasted notes," he said.
"It feels unreal that he is no longer with us. Some of the students have said his life was stolen from him and I agree."
Timoti's profile on the social networking website Bebo has been flooded with messages and tributes from his friends and family.
"With mum now bro, will never forget you ... Will miss you always and the band will too. Love you bro," wrote Grant Nagel, who was a member of Soleflex.
"RIP bro, you will be in our hearts always. You will never be forgotten," Emere Maangi wrote. Also among the messages was one from Terere Pa. "Rest easy. I love you. Words can't express."
Funeral arrangements are yet to be made public.