Raetihi farm tragedy: Grandmother killed in farm accident 'a very caring person'

By RNZ

Locals in Raetihi say the community will be there to help the family get through the deaths of a much-loved grandmother and her two grandsons.The three died when their farm vehicle plunged into a dam on a family farm in the central North Island on Sunday morning.

Bev Hiscox, who was 66, died alongside Luka and JJ Sirett who were aged 10 and 5.

Geoff Anderson manages the Information Centre at Raetihi where Hiscox was a volunteer on Wednesday mornings.

Hiscox assisted people from all over the world who had come to visit the small town.

"She had great knowledge of the local area so she was able to advise people so it was sort of community service as well as helping tourists."

Anderson says Hiscox was a wonderful person who never spoke ill of anyone.

She was engaging and had a great smile, he said.

"She was very genuine, very interested in people so that's why she did well here, a very caring person and she helped people who were in trouble.

"She was a very, very nice person."

Hiscox was into gardening and was a member of the Ōhakune garden club.

It will take a long time for the community to recover from the deaths, Anderson said.

In the future, he hopes the community can talk about a memorial for the family.