Picton NZ crash: Three generations killed ‘in the blink of an eye’ as mini-van collides with truck

Three generations of one family, including a baby, have been wiped out in a horror crash that happened “in the blink of an eye”.

A friend of the seven people killed in a horror crash near Picton has spoken of spending the night with them in Christchurch before they made the fateful drive to return home.

“You spend every spare moment thinking of the what-ifs and the whys,” said Bill, who contacted Newstalk ZB this morning.

Three generations of the Auckland family, which includes members of the Filipino community, died in the crash, The NZ Herald reported.

Bill revealed what they did when they came to stay with him on Saturday night.

“They spent some of their last hours on earth with me on Saturday night, Sunday morning,” Bill told Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings host John MacDonald.

“This was a vibrant family — my friend was a high school teacher … his wife started an online business and he was really proud of her.

“They had four boys and girls … one of the boys had married a Taiwanese young lady and it was their baby that died.

“I was really taken with this young woman, she was so nice and it really hits home at my heart that she’s gone and the baby’s gone.

“Her husband survived … he’s going to wake up and find that he’s now alone.”

The aftermath of the crash. Picture: George Heard/NZ Herald

‘Shocking for the community’

Romy Udanga, an Auckland Filipino community leader, said he was shocked to learn that most of those killed in the crash were members of the community.

Mr Udanga said members of the community in Wellington were on standby to help the two survivors — a man and a teenager — in Wellington Hospital.

“This is really a terrible and shocking news for the community, and all our thoughts are with the families and those affected,” Mr Udanga said.

“It really also serves as a wake-up call for others in the community to be extra careful on the roads this long weekend.”

Matilde Figuracion, a Filipino living in Wellington, was meant to have travelled on the same ferry as those involved in the crash.

“The crash happened just minutes before us, and the roads were closed when we reached the Picton area. I was in shock when I heard what happened,” she said.

“When I heard they are Filipino, I told the nurses in Wellington Hospital that I am here if they needed any help.”

Emilie Shi, a former consul general of the Philippines, said the bodies of the deceased have been transferred to Christchurch.

“The consul general in Christchurch is assisting with the matter, I understand,” Ms Shi said.

The NZ Herald understands that staff from the Philippines Embassy are assisting police with their investigation.

The crash occurred on Sunday morning south of Picton. Picture: George Heard/NZ Herald

Crash victim a respected teacher

It comes as a colleague of the man who died revealed he was a respected teacher of high-needs children.

The former principal of the Auckland specialist school, who first employed the man, said he had worked there for over a decade.

She said he was a primary teacher by training who received extra instruction for the high needs children the school dealt with — and he had thrived in the role.

“[He] proved himself to be a very caring and competent teacher,” she said.

The man had children with his first wife and years ago had married again to a “lovely, gorgeous Filipino woman”.

The aftermath of the crash. Picture: George Heard/NZ Herald

Seven dead ‘in blink of an eye’

The family were returning home to the North Island after attending a loved one’s funeral in Gore when the Toyota Hiace van they were travelling in collided head-on with a refrigerated truck on Sunday.

There were nine people in the van and tragically seven of them, including an infant, were killed “in the blink of an eye” after their van appeared to cross the centre-line on State Highway 1 south of Picton about 7.30am.

The huge collision tore the van open and left the vehicle completely destroyed.

A truck driver suffered minor injuries.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

Specialist police investigators, including staff from Marlborough Disaster Victim Identification, were picking over the wreckage yesterday.

It is the deadliest crash on New Zealand roads since April 2019, when eight people died in a horrific head-on collision near Taupō.

The worst accident before then was in 2005 when nine people died after their tourist bus collided with a logging truck near Morrinsville.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday afternoon, Marlborough area commander Inspector Simon Feltham and Tasman district commander Inspector Paul Borrell said the crash was “a horrific thing to have to deal with”.

“[It’s] a reminder for every single one of us, in the blink of an eye seven lives are gone,” said Borrell.

The road — the main artery between Blenheim and the ferry port of Picton at the top of the South Island — remained closed throughout the day, disrupting Cook Strait ferries and backing up dozens of long-haul trucks.

The huge collision tore the van open. Picture: George Heard/NZ Herald

‘This was a real-life family’

Bill told Newstalk ZB the family stayed with him in Rolleston, outside Christchurch, before heading north to get on the ferry from Picton to Wellington.

They had travelled up from Gore and had been taking turns behind the wheel.

Bill said his friend told him he was really proud of his sons for their safe driving efforts.

He said the family were based in Pukekohe but have family in the Philippines and Taiwan, who would be reeling from the shock of the crash.

“We met in 2015 and him and I attended the same church and that’s how I met him,” Bill said.

The family arrived just before 10pm.

“They came in, they’d eaten so I made coffee and tea,” said Bill.

“My friend and I just chatted, we hadn’t seen each other for four years, and the rest of the family just entertained themselves.

“Some slept — the guy that was driving when they left had a couple of hours sleep.

“One of the lads played a computer game and didn’t bother to sleep but all the rest except for my friend snoozed a bit.

“They were just comfortable, they had pillows and blankets.

“I’d suggested why don’t you stay and have more sleep and my friend said, ‘No we’ll be OK, we’ll just slowly make our way up to Picton and get maybe have a couple of hours sleep when we get there while we wait for the ferry.’

“So they left and I went to bed and never thought any more about it.

“They were at my place for over four hours so they did actually have quite a break.”

The location of the deadly crash. Picture: OpenStreetMap/NZ Herald

They left his house at about 2.30am.

But he didn’t believe that they were in a rush. They wanted to take their time and rest before getting the ferry, he said.

Bill planned to send his mate a message on Sunday to see how the trip went.

At 5pm he was out driving and heard the news about the crash.

“At the first opportunity sent a text saying how’s the trip going — but there was no response,” he said.

“At 6pm I started to make inquiries.”

He said his friend’s wife’s sister was also with the group.

“When you hear about just a group of people who had an unfortunate ending it’s just cold — I’d like people to know this was a real-life family with hopes and dreams,” he said.

Bill did not know who was driving when the van crashed.

“I can only imagine that there was a moment where fatigue came in … certainly there was no alcohol involved.”

He said his friend had another daughter with his first wife.

“She’s now without her dad,” he lamented.

“My friend was a high school teacher, his students are finding out now that he’s not coming back …”

Bill said he and his mate talked about “everything” while he was in Rolleston.

“He sort of joked that I’d saved him more than $300 on a motel when he was at my house, he’d thought about it and decided not to.”

He is haunted by the deaths, which he said were a reminder of “how fragile life is”.

“I wander round a bit and remember every moment, pretty much,” he said.

“I can still feel his hand in mine when we shook hands when he left … the chair he sat in I’ve touched a few times this morning.

“I really just wanted to tell people that these were real folks, it’s going to be a huge shock …”

This article originally appeared on NZ Herald and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as Picton NZ crash: Three generations killed ‘in the blink of an eye’ as mini-van collides with truck