Grieving for Grace — a mum’s agony
The mother of a 16-year-old who died with her boyfriend’s parents in a Hamilton crash says she cannot work out how the vehicles collided.
Auckland teenager Grace Hill died in the crash early on Sunday.
Hayley Ellwood, said she named her daughter after the hymn
Amazing Grace because she was simply that: Amazing. “That’s my favourite . . . and she lived up to that.”
Ellwood is now learning how many others thought her daughter was amazing, too.
Grace was a passenger in the vehicle being driven by her boyfriend, Mitchell Kay, as it headed north on Mangaharakeke Drive/State Highway 1 just after midnight.
Their vehicle and a Toyota Prado — seen being driven at speed just before the smash — collided.
Mitchell’s parents, Jeremy and Tania, did not survive. Both drivers are recovering from moderate injuries in a ward in Waikato Hospital.
Police yesterday said no charges had been laid. They believe the Toyota had been driven down from
She was hilarious, quite a laugh, and had a huge group of friends. Hayley Ellwood, Grace’s mother
Auckland earlier that night.
Ellwood yesterday described her daughter as determined and strongwilled yet incredibly funny. “She was hilarious, quite a laugh and had a huge group of friends from all walks of life . . . and I can see that from all of the messages coming through it’s just completely overwhelming.
The family were in Hamilton yesterday, visiting Mitchell and talking to police. Mitchell’s grandparents live in Te Kuiti.
As for her thoughts on the driver of the other vehicle, she wasn’t sure what to say. “The guy is pretty lucky. He gets to walk away and I don’t understand how it happened.
“But what he’s done to our family and the Kay family . . . [Mitchell] and his sister are orphans. You just can’t get your head around any of that.”
She said Mitchell’s mother treated Grace like one of her own, while Jeremy Kay, a drummer in local band Tenfoot Leap, was “the classic dad”.
Tenfoot Leap posted a tribute to him on its Facebook page yesterday.
Mitchell, who attended Hamilton Boys High School, and Grace, a student at Westlake Girls College, had been together nearly three years after meeting through their love of rowing. “She would catch the bus down to Hamilton or he would bus up. It’s just a cute love story for two young kids.”
But after being a couple for so long, Grace had moved to Hamilton to be closer to him. She had just started a new job last week at Chartwell stationery store Smiggles. “She was really excited.” Grace is survived by twin sisters Ashlee and Madison, 21.
Grace’s best mates, Pearl Tottenham, and Pania ReihanaHalford, both 17, are also struggling to come to terms with their loss.
“She was the bubbliest and funniest person that I have ever met.”
Tania Kay’s boss, Phil Caldwell, of mortgage and insurance broker Lime Group, said their team of 13 were devastated at the news.