Rangimarie Nepe and her partner Charlie Russell died at the scene of the crash on Ulster St in Hamilton in 2023. Photos / Supplied , NZME
Rangimarie Nepe and her partner Charlie Russell died at the scene of the crash on Ulster St in Hamilton in 2023. Photos / Supplied , NZME
A man has admitted causing a fiery crash that killed two people and injured several others after his car collided at speed with a Fonterra truck.
Kre Turia, of Auckland, first appeared in the Hamilton District Court in January, facing two charges of dangerous driving causing death and one ofdangerous driving causing injury after the crash on Ulster St, Hamilton, in the early hours of July 9, 2023.
He has had name suppression since then, but when he reappeared in court this week and admitted the charges, that suppression lapsed.
The 24-year-old labourer was convicted and remanded ahead of his sentencing in March next year.
Two people died at the scene of the crash on Ulster St in Hamilton and six people were transported to hospital. Photo / Hayden Woodward
The charges relate to the deaths of his passengers Kerihaehae Nepe, known as Rangimarie, and her partner Charlie Russell, both 19 of Hamilton, and another occupant, Daimai Tokoa, who was injured.
Five other passengers were also injured but Turia was not charged in relation to those injuries. Turia was also injured in the crash.
Two people with critical injuries were pulled from the burning car by three police officers. The officers, who were praised for their heroic and quick actions, suffered smoke inhalation.
‘Rest in love, my honey girl’
News of the crash at the time spurred Nepe’s concerned father take to Facebook to try to track her down.
He then posted a heartfelt tribute to his “firstborn”.
“My big girl, my number one, my honey girl. I don’t even know what to say or how to feel. This is not fair. I f***en love you. I’m gonna miss you, baby. I already do. Rest in love, my honey girl,” he wrote.
Russell’s sister, Natalia Russell, wrote that losing her brother had been the hardest thing.
Rangimarie Nepe and her partner Charlie Russell died in the crash. Photo / Supplied
“Losing a little brother has to be the most numbing s***,” she wrote.
“This has got to be the hardest thing ever man ... I’m so broken ... love you so much my baby brother.”
Russell also posted a photo of the couple, asking them to “look after each other up there”.
Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 10 years and has been a journalist for 21.
