Two deaths, a miracle and the horrific crash

BY TONY WALL

The night Jordyn Beach cheated death started happily. The 17-year-old, known to friends and family as Jordi, had spent the Friday before last at Havelock North High School and was looking forward to a 17th birthday party near Taradale in south-west Napier.

She was joined at her parents' home in the foothills above Havelock North by a couple of girlfriends and they were waiting for other friends to finish school or work before heading to the party.

Jordi's parents, Gerald and Barbara, own one of the town's most popular bar-restaurants, Diva. Presently, Jordi's boyfriend, Robert Waikari, came up the long gravel drive in his Ford Econovan. The 17-year-old had saved hard to buy the van and, according to his family, always made a point of lining up a sober driver when he was going out.

Gerald and Barbara had met Robert only once – his relationship with their daughter was new – but they liked what they had seen. They found him "really likeable... a unique young man". Robert, who transferred to Havelock North High at the start of the year from the integrated Catholic boys school St John's College, was interested in the Rastafari movement, Bob Marley and the Tech-9 style of music.

Gerald made his usual offer to come and get Jordi and her friends from the party if they needed a lift. "You know I'll get grumpy and bitch and moan," he would always tell his daughter, "but I'll still come."

His last words as the teens piled into the van for the 20km drive to Napier were: "Call me." Jordi's reply: "I will." If the offer had been taken up, two lives may have been saved that night. Instead, Barbara Beach opened the door to a police officer in the early hours of Saturday morning and was immediately struck by that parent's-worst-nightmare feeling: police don't come to your door in the middle of the night with good news.

In this case the news was mixed – Jordi was alive, but had been in an horrific wreck that had claimed Robert's life, as well as that of St John's old boy Max Harman, also 17. As details of the smash emerged, it became apparent that, all considered, Jordi should not have lived.

THE PARTY was held at the home of Toni Wilson, whose son Izaea was turning 17. Wilson and two other adults were there to supervise the 30-odd guests, and the night went well. "Everyone had a good time, singing and dancing," Wilson says. The house is being repaired after a major fire a few months ago, caused by a towel being left too close to a heater. Wilson's older son, Theo Brooking, received serious burns to his hands and feet.

One of the guests at the party was Wilson's 16-year-old niece, Tamoko Christy, known as Tahr, a top softball player, who also goes to Havelock North High. She had only recently gained her learner's licence but at some point in the night it was decided she would drive Robert's van back to Hastings.

Police would later say that she had been drinking; Wilson says: "I never saw her drink once and I didn't know she had drunk anything, so I'd be interested to see what the levels were."

The blood alcohol limit for drivers under 20 is 30mg per 100ml of blood (compared to 80mg for adults) so even a couple of drinks could have sent her over. She told her family she had stayed sober.

When it came time to leave, Robert Waikari had to turn away several people who wanted a lift – he didn't want to exceed the maximum capacity of seven. Those known to have been passengers for the trip home were Jordi, Robert, Max, former Lindisfarne College student Ben Morrison, 18, and a friend called Ryker. Jordi was sitting in the back between Robert and Max, and at least one person is thought to have been sitting on a couch that Robert had put in the rear.

Tahr took the Napier-Hastings expressway, SH50, and shortly before 2am approached a bridge over the Tutaekuri River. There is a gentle right-hand bend leading up to the bridge. For reasons still being investigated by police, Tahr swerved over the centre-line. She told her family she only remembered seeing headlights.

Simon Taunt, 18, was coming the other way, with his girlfriend Melody Dane. The pair had been at friends in Hastings and were heading home to Napier. One of Melody's favourite songs came on the radio and she leaned forward to turn up the volume just before impact. Simon, who knew Max Harman from St John's College, took evasive action, steering as far to the left as he could on the narrow bridge, but could not avoid a head-on collision. His mother, Helen Taunt, went to see the wreck and says it is incredible that Simon and Melody survived. They suffered only minor injuries.

The van flipped and landed on its roof on the railing of the bridge, catapulting Robert, Max and Jordi out the rear hatch and over the rail. The two boys landed on gravel below and were killed instantly, but Jordi survived the 15m plunge. She landed another 20m away from the bridge in a shallow puddle, which cushioned the impact. She landed on her side and suffered a broken arm, a gash to her head and bad bruising to her legs. She lost consciousness and was woken by the water. She sat up, gathered her wits, and was met by a policewoman coming down the bank to look for survivors.

Barbara Beach says the over-used word "miracle" doesn't adequately describe what happened. "It's more than a miracle," she says through tears. "People say an angel was looking after her, or it wasn't her time, but at the end of the day I guess, physically, she just landed somehow the right way."

Gerald: "It's beyond words, it's mind-boggling... especially when there was so much finality for those other two young men."

LAST WEEK went by in a blur for the survivors. Bravely, Tahr fronted up to Robert's funeral, knowing all eyes must have been on her. She stayed close to her boyfriend, Ryker, who came by ambulance and was wheeled inside on a hospital bed. He is believed to have broken his back.

Theo Brooking says Tahr is struggling to cope. "You pretty much never see her not crying."

More than 50 students from St John's College and Havelock North High did a rousing haka, and music from Salmonella Dub saw Robert off. His mother, Carol Johnstone, hosted a party at her house in Havelock North that night – it could be heard across the neighbourhood and at one point noise complaints prompted a police visit.

Jordi attended Robert's funeral, feeling self-conscious about the gash on her head. The rest of her week was spent with hospital check-ups. On Thursday another huge crowd turned out to farewell Max at the rescue helicopter base where his father, Greg Harman, used to work.

After both funerals, carloads of young people gathered under the Tutaekuri bridge, the concrete struts of which are now covered in graffiti with messages such as "R.I.P Robert and Max" and "well neva 4get all da good times, R.I.P boys". The pair live on via the internet – a Bebo site for Robert features songs and photo slideshows – and in stylised tributes in the backs of car windows.

The family of Ben Morrison maintain a vigil at Wellington Hospital, where he remains in a serious condition.

Police say any decision on charges will be some time away.

For Gerald and Barbara Beach, the accident has raised multiple issues.

"I asked a group of them who came here, what would you have done to make it different? I said, would you call your parents [to come and get you]? They all said no, they were scared of their parents getting grumbly. So I think it comes back to us parents."

The group made responsible decisions that night, Gerald says, and there was nothing to be gained from pointing the finger. "Blame's a wasted energy."

Barbara says young people today get an unfair rap. "You think of how things were when we were young, I think children are a lot more responsible than they were then."

Gerald is scathing of the way liquor companies target youths. "Realistically, the drinking age shouldn't have been lowered, but you're not going to stop these kids doing it because they are being hit by a marketing package that's bigger than mums and dads."

He believed it took a tragedy like last weekend's to emphasise the importance of making the right decisions around alcohol. "The best thing out of all of this has got to be that those two young men are going to save a shitload more lives, just because of the impact of what's happened to them."

- © Fairfax NZ News