Fatal crash victim only 19
A teenage driver was the victim of a fatal crash on State Highway 3 in Taranaki on Friday afternoon, his family have confirmed.
Nineteen-year-old Kyle William John Sullivan, who was better known as Kyle Love, was on his way home from work at around 4pm when he was involved in the two-car collision on State Highway 3, in Brixton, north of New Plymouth.
It is understood he died at the scene.
Sullivan had been living in Waitara with his cousin, Tyrese Aldridge, who described the teenager as ‘‘the life of the party’’.
‘‘He’d just finished, four o’clock, was coming home from work out by Lepperton and it happened just outside the entrance of Waitara,’’ Aldridge said.
Sullivan had five siblings and his loss would leave a gap in the family.
‘‘He always made us laugh, even when we were sad,’’ Aldridge said. ‘‘He’s been the life of the party since I can remember.’’
He said the pair were the same age so had grown up together.
‘‘We’ve been pretty close for years.’’
Sullivan had moved to Taranaki from Wellington about five years ago for a ‘‘fresh start’’.
‘‘He moved up here to get a job and start a new life here in Taranaki.’’
The pair had been living with Aldridge’s mother, who is Sullivan’s first cousin, for the past three years.
‘‘We don’t have a big house but we crammed him in and he went off and made us proud.’’
The family is still grieving the loss of Aldridge’s brother Cheyden, who took his own life in November 2016.
"We’re still raw, raw feelings.’’ Aldridge said the family hadn’t decide on a date for Sullivan’s funeral, but said he would be brought back to their Waitara home and the tangi would be in Taranaki.
Aldridge has created a Givealittle page to help fund his cousin’s farewell.
As for the crash itself, Aldridge said they don’t yet know what had happened.
‘‘We’re still waiting for the police to tell us.’’
The sole occupant of the other vehicle was transported to Taranaki Base Hospital.
Senior constable Jason Koch said police were looking for witnesses, and encouraged ‘‘anyone who saw anything’’ to come forward.
Less than 48 hours later, police were called to another collision on the same stretch of State Highway 3, near the scene of the fatal crash.
A police spokesperson said they were called at 12.24am yesterday to a two-car smash in Brixton, where two people were trapped and one of the vehicles was on its roof.
The spokesperson said one person was taken to hospital, and the other was uninjured.