Taranaki crash: First of seven killed in road tragedy to be farewelled on Monday

Nivek Madams, 8, Shady-Jade Thompson, 8 weeks, and Jeremy Thompson, 28, lost their lives in the crash.

Two days on from the worst crash in more than a decade on New Zealand's roads, plans to farewell those who lost their lives on a South Taranaki highway are underway. 

On Wednesday, a head-on crash involving two vehicles, just north of Waverley left seven people dead.  

Ian Porteous, 80, Rosalie Porteous, 76, Ora Keene, 84, who is Ian's sister, and Brenda Williams,79, who all lived in Waverley and had been in the same vehicle, were killed instantly.

Rosalie and Ian Porteous were two of seven people killed in the head-on collision.

Two people in the other car, Jeremy Thompson, 28 and his eight-week-old baby girl Shady-Jade died at the scene while  his step-daughter Nivek Madams, 8, passed away the next day in Waikato Hospital.

Thompson's partner, Ani Nohinohi, remains in a critical condition in Wellington Hospital, where she is surrounded by whānau.

On Friday, South Taranaki Mayor Ross Dunlop visited Waverley, two days after a horror road crash which claimed the lives of four of the small town's residents and three others, including a newborn baby. (file photo)



On Friday, the first of the funerals for those tragically killed was publicly announced.

Brenda Williams, or Sheppard, will be farewelled on Monday at a 11am service at The Church of the Good Shepherd in Waverley.

Thompson and baby Shady-Jade are with whānau in Whanganui as they prepare to take them to the family homestead. As yet no funeral plans had been finalised.

Arrangements have been made for Nivek's body to be taken to Wellington Hospital so she can be near her mother. 

South Taranaki Mayor Ross Dunlop visited Waverley on Friday to meet with bereaved family of those killed, business owners, emergency service personnel and library staff.

The four Waverley residents who died were regular attendees at a weekly Wednesday morning coffee group held at the library.

"There's a feeling of sorry and shock out there," he said, summing up the general feeling in the town.

While Dunlop would not go into detail about his conversations with the grieving families and others he met, he said the council would continue to monitor the situation and be on hand to offer support wherever it was needed.

"We've got people we can refer to if needs be," he said.

 - Stuff