Bus victim ‘humble, loving’
One of the men who was killed in a Papatoetoe bus crash on Saturday has been remembered as a humble man who loved his family.
Taylor Charles King, 23, from Papatoetoe, and 34-year-old Jeremy Tokotai Kaukasi were hit by a bus and died at the scene. Their deaths have been referred to the coroner.
Kaukasi’s sister said he was an amazing big brother. One of his favourite things was taking his nieces and nephews to school and to sports games. He also loved his nana and he was one of her favourites.
The sister, who did not want to be named, said he was well known around Otara as a friendly man.
“He was not afraid to say hello. He was humble, he lived life to the fullest.
“He always forgave. Something would happen, he would give good advice. He’d say ‘Just forget about it’.”
The sister said his family were devastated by his death, missed him and wished the incident was just “a bad dream”. “It is still a shock to everyone. He was a humble, loving, funny guy whom everyone loved very dearly. He will definitely be missed by all.”
Bunches of flowers lie on the footpath next to where the pair were killed crossing a road on Saturday.
A man working at Choice Takeaways said the men had just bought food from there, before they went to cross Wyllie Rd.
Seconds later a bus, turning left off Puhinui Rd, struck them.
Go Bus chief executive Calum Haslop said it was continuing to offer police full support as the investigation continued. “We are also doing all we can to support our driver who is understandably traumatised by this.” — Michael Neilson