Crash claims brother’s life
When Ivan Schultz saw a crashed red car and flashing lights on the road near his home, he knew tragedy had struck.
His 85-year-old brother, Ronald Schultz, had just died in a crash involving his car and a truck, a short distance from their home on Friday afternoon.
The circumstances of the crash around 3pm on Ball Rd, South Taranaki, are still being investigated by the police serious crash unit.
‘‘I couldn’t believe it when I drove up the road and stopped, what I was seeing,’’ Ivan, 87, said. ‘‘I saw the flashing lights a mile from home and then saw a red car... I knew it was bad.’’
‘‘It only happened 10 minutes before I got there. The police constable there, who we know, told me he had just passed away.’’
He said it appeared a truck had broken down on the crest of a hill and his brother’s car collided with it.
The two brothers, who farmed together for 55 years, had been having a good day in Ha¯wera together on farm business.
‘‘We had quite a happy day in town doing the things we had to do.’’
Ron had bought some strawberry plants for a newly-built garden bed, and they had an appointment together at the lawyers, ‘‘I saw the flashing lights a mile from home and then saw a red car... I knew it was bad.’’ Ivan Schultz before Ron drove off for home, about 10 minutes ahead of Ivan.
After the crash, Ivan was unable to get home that night because the road was blocked, so he stayed with relatives.
He said he was struggling to come to grips with Ron’s death.
‘‘It’s so empty. There are no words... We are talking about the old times, they were some of the best.’’
His daughter Kay and her husband, and other family members are supporting him.
He and Ron went into partnership together after they bought the family farm off their parents in 1963.
Ron Schultz was a quiet man whose interests were rugby and the farm, and he also enjoyed his garden.
He played rugby for Alton for 20 years and raced go karts.
‘‘He was a Taranaki champion and he also raced midgets for a season up in New Plymouth,’’ Ivan said.
Ron never had children of his own, but he and another bachelor friend, Bernie Hurley, were both part of Ivan’s family, he said.
‘‘They borrowed their family off us. Ron’s always lived in the house with us, he was good with the children, and the grandkids and great grandkids .... now he’s gone. The wheels have fallen off.’’
Ron had been a quiet support to him through some terrible losses over the years, he said.
Schultz lost his wife June 14 years ago, shortly before their 50th wedding anniversary.
Three of the couple’s four children had also died.
One son, Gary, was killed in a head-on collision in 2001 and the other two, Murray, and Donald, later died of cancer, he said.
The senior Schultz brothers, two of a family of six boys, were well known in the district, he said. ‘‘We were farmers and shearers, we shore for about 30 years, both of us, that’s been our life.’’
They also cut 70 acres of scrub together and milled their own fence posts.
‘‘We were one of the first in South Taranaki to have a bull farm. We were only a small farm so we were always looking to do better,’’ he said.
Most of the farm was now leased but they were still running about 18 acres together before Ron’s death.
‘‘We were farmers and shearers, we shore for about 30 years, both of us.’’ Ivan Schultz