Tributes for young victim

Palmerston North teenager Christopher Lee Johnson, 16, was killed when the car he was a passenger in flipped into a ditch while dodging a cyclist.

Christopher was a passenger in one of two cars that was travelling at speed along Flygers Line towards Rangitikei Line.

Both cars missed the cyclist, but the one Christopher was in ended up in a ditch.

Whakarongo School principal Jaco Broodryk said Christopher, who attended the school from the age of five, had an outgoing personality which made him hard to forget.

"We remember Chris as a very cheerful young man with an infectious personality. He always saw the bright side of life."

Mr Broodryk said Christopher's family lived in Ashhurst before moving to Palmerston North.

Palmerston North Boys' High School rector Tim O'Connor said Christopher, a Year 12 student, left the school last month.

"I spent quite a bit of time with Chris for a variety of reasons. There were a lot of admirable qualities about him. He had a good sense of humour, he had a lot of friends."

Traditionally, Palmerston North Boys' High School pupils are honoured in death by having their hearse do a drive-by of the school.

Although Christopher was not enrolled at the time of his death, Mr O'Connor said he would be happy to extend this invitation to the family.

Christopher's family did not wish to comment yesterday.

The circumstances surrounding the accident have led to speculations the cars were racing each other, but Detective Sergeant Ashley Gurney would not confirm this yesterday.

"At the moment we are investigating to see what occurred. We are still getting to the bottom of it. All the identities of the occupants are known but we are after more information. When we are dealing with a serious incident like this we'd like to take time to get it all right before we put something to the public forum."

Christopher's family were understandably distraught, he said.

"Some deaths are expected, some are unexpected. When it's a 16-year- old you'd have to put it into the unexpected category."

Police want to hear from members of the public who saw a white Honda hatchback and a silver Honda hatchback in the area at around 2pm on Sunday.

- © Fairfax NZ News