' He was a real sweetie '

TOMMORROW marks five years to the day since 27-year old Craig Wyman lost his life in a head-on crash near Paekakariki. Craigs' mother, Andrea, says the death of her son was "completely devastating". She and her husband were holidaying in Malaysia when they received the news their second-born child had died. Their oldest son had to identify his brother's body and was still haunted by it, Mrs Wyman says.

"Craig's death affected the whole family. It really altered things, it changed the psyche of the family." She still misses her son, who was the "softie" of the family. She thinks about him every day and whenever she drives past the accident spot she says hello.
"He just pops into my mind all the time. He was a real sweatie."
Mrs Wyman and her family are convinced their son would be alive today if improvements had been made to the road, or if Transmission Gully had gone ahead.
She believes her son drifted to sleep at the wheel, causing him to cross to the oncoming lane. If the road were not so narrow, or there was a median barrier, she wouldn't have lost her son, she says. "It's just a very, very dangerous road. But it's ruled by money. They [the Government] are not prepared to spend anything on it."
"When you hear of another crash, you just think, 'Oh, another one gone,' another family affected. Just for the greedy buggers who do the wrong things with money......

2004 Fairfax New Zealand

' Driver has lucky escape '

A woman was rescued from her car teetering on the side of a Paekakariki bank.
Police believe the woman driver probably fell asleep at the wheel about 3:00pm on Sunday.

Acting Senior Sergeant Stu Lawrie said the northbound car hit a kerb, spun into a car park and came to a stop teetering on the edge of a 4 ½ metre bank above the foreshore.
Mr Lawrie said the Christchurch woman was lucky to escape injury. The car was badly damaged......

2004 Fairfax New Zealand

' Tired Drivers Urged to Rest'

Kapiti Coast

Two crashes caused by drivers falling asleep at the wheel on the Kapiti Coast last weekend have prompted a warning from police.

An elderly woman hit a concrete barrier on the Raumati straight at 7.20 am on Sunday after she fell asleep.
She suffered cuts and abrasions and her car was towed away after being badly damaged......

' Tired Drivers Urged to Rest'

South of Waikanae

Later the same day, the driver of a north-bound car veered over the centreline and collided with two south-bound cars on State Highway 1, south of Waikanae. Traffic was delayed for several hours while emergency services cleared the road. The drivers and passengers of all three cars suffered minor injuries.

Acting Senior Sergeant Stu Lawrie said drivers should be sensible and pull over and have a rest if they felt tired. They should also take advantage of 'driver reviver' services which operate regularly on State Highway 1 in Kapiti during the holiday weekends......

' Four die returning from funeral '

A FAMILY has been left devastated after four cousins were killed in a Kapiti Coast car accident on their way back from the funeral of another family member.

The four were Maureen Hill, 66, of Johnsonville, Marie Field, 75, of Johnsonville, Joyce Adams, 63, and her husband Roy Adams, 65, of Miramar. They were cousins of Betty McDowell, whose husband Neil died suddenly in Wanganui Hospital last week.
Neil "Mac" Dowell, 59, was a founding member of the 40-plus Ulysses motorbike club. The four had attended his funeral that morning, before leaving Wanganui for a three-hour drive home. Betty McDowell, at home last night was "dumbfounded" at the crash.
Porirua police said a Toyota Corolla, believed to have been driven by Joyce Adams, crossed the center line on a road south of Paekakariki and collided with a northbound Toyota Hilux utility. The three women died at the scene. The Hilux driver was taken to Wellington Hospital and was said to be in a serious condition yesterday......