Bleak Christmas for crash family

As other families celebrated the holidays, the Tangaere whanau mourned their 26-year-old son killed on Christmas Eve.

Yesterday his body was taken to the marae in the tiny town of Tikitiki, on the East Coast.

Edward Tangaere died when the 4WD vehicle in which he was a passenger went out of control, flipped several times and hit a power pole about 12.45pm on Thursday. Edwin Ward, 44, a father of three and a Black Power member, also died at the scene.

Another man, Enoka Poi, was hurt in the crash but was discharged from hospital on Christmas Day.

It has been a tough year for the Tangaere family. Mr Tangaere had been staying with his father, Tipuna, who had major heart surgery last month.

His sister Hiria, 46, who had three children, died from cancer six months ago. "They lost the oldest [Hiria] in the family and now this is the baby," cousin Aidan Tangaere said.

It had been a "pretty rough time" for everyone, especially Mr Tangaere's father, and had shattered their Christmas. "It's a big shock."

The official period for the road toll runs from 4pm on Christmas Eve to 6am on January 5 and last night stood at one death, excluding Mr Tangaere, Mr Ward and two other men killed earlier on Christmas Eve. They were Napier minister Sonny Saniva Ng Shiu, who died when two vehicles collided head-on on the Hawke's Bay expressway, and a Waikato man killed when his car crashed down a bank near Huntly.

Farm worker Paul Lawrence McLaughlin, 31, died after a crash in Waikato early on Christmas Day, and was the only reported fatality for the official period, making it one of the lowest on record so far.

Road policing national manager Superintendent Paula Rose said one death on the roads during the holiday period was still one too many.

However, it was heartening that there had not been more fatalities.

Road safety advertising and the mobile phone ban and drug-driving tests had all contributed to the good start, she said.

Police had also focused on drink-driving in the fortnight before Christmas, holding a nationwide blitz on December 18 in which 40,000 vehicles were stopped at checkpoints.

However, police had received some disturbing reports of driver behaviour, particularly vehicles crossing centre lines, Ms Rose said.

Last year's Christmas-New Year road toll of 25 was the highest in 11 years. The lowest was nine in 2006-07.

- © Fairfax NZ News