‘It is so hard, no parent should go through this’
LESS than two hours before Ravineel Sharma died in a car crash, his father turned up to give him a ride home from a night out drinking.
The 19-year-old apprentice plumber from Alexandra was killed when the Nissan he was a front-seat passenger in crashed into a tree on Coates Rd in Alexandra, Central Otago, just before midnight on Thursday.
Police say speed and alcohol were factors in the crash, that also left the driver with critical injuries and the rear-seat passenger with minor injuries.
Speaking from his home in Alexandra on Saturday, Ravineel Sharma’s parents Ratnesh and Santa were still coming to terms with their son’s death.
‘‘It is so hard, no parent should go through this. It’s so difficult. It was a long day yesterday and a long, long night,’’ Santa Sharma said.
Their ‘‘nightmare’’ started at 2am when their youngest son answered a knock at the door. As Sharma came around the corner, she saw the two police officers and heart racing immediately said, ‘‘is Rav home?’’
Only hours earlier their eldest son texted his father for a ride home from a nearby engineering firm where a group of young people were having drinks, Ratnesh Sharma said.
‘‘Ravineel had come home from work and a friend came around – the driver – and picked him up. They were at an engineering shop and were sitting having a few drinks where there were a whole lot of other kids as well.
‘‘He texted me to pick him up about 10pm. I was going to pick Santa up from the Four Square where she works. I went there and he said, ‘go pickMumfirst and come back and pick me up’.’’
While picking up his wife from work, he received a text from his son saying, ‘‘Dad, don’t worry, I’ll be dropped back by friends’’.
‘‘So I never went back to pick him up again. I came home then heard a knock on the door at 2am. It was our worst nightmare,’’ Ratnesh said.
Ravineel had returned to live at home three weeks ago having started a job with a Cromwellbased plumbing company to complete an apprenticeship – time his parents now cherish.
‘‘It was so nice having him home. We didn’t have enough time with him though. We are so pleased we had those three weeks,’’ Sharma said.
Ratnesh Sharma moved to Alexandra in 2003 from Fiji where he worked at a resort. He was offered a job by an Alexandra couple who owned a restaurant, and the family decided to take the opportunity and move. Santa and their boys followed Ratnesh 14 months later. ‘‘Ravineel turned six when we came to New Zealand. He had most of his life here. He was always on the go. He was just a bubbly kid who always had lots of friends.’’
Ravineel played football, was learning karate and had recently taken up snowboarding.
‘‘Anything he wanted to do, he did. He was a hard worker and always looked after his money and bought things. He was a very polite kid.’’
The parents said they were not angry with the driver, who had grown up with their son.
‘‘We feel sorry for them too. They were good school friends who grew up together. At that time of the night they should not be on the road anyway, both of them had work in the morning.
‘‘If something good comes from it, we hope young people learn a lesson and don’t make the wrong decisions.’’