6-year-old Myka ‘loved by all’
Paparangi School student Myka Tuala was just over a month short of his seventh birthday when his life was tragically taken.
The Wellington schoolboy, who died in a crash in Northland on Friday, is being remembered as a happy, kind and gentle person who was loved by all who knew him.
Police are continuing to investigate the cause of the two-car crash that killed the 6-year-old, whose family live in Broadmeadows.
Myka was due to be celebrate his birthday on February 6, according to a Givealittle page set up by a friend of the family.
‘‘Our dear friends Charlotte and Jay have had the most devastating start to the New Year,’’ the page said. ‘‘Their beloved son Myka was involved in a car collision which tragically resulted in his passing.
‘‘Myka’s personality was a true reflection of the loving family environment he has grown up in. He was a happy, kind and gentle boy who was undoubtedly adored by all that knew him.’’
Myka was Charlotte and Jay’s only child. He was in Whangarei for the holidays with his family. He usually went there for the school holidays during the year.
Charlotte and Jay were in the process of bringing Myka’s body home to be with them so they had asked for privacy while they made funeral arrangements, the page said.
It was set up in the hopes of relieving any financial burden, so the family could focus on grieving for Myka, it said. The page had more than $8000 in donations by last night.
The crash occurred on State Highway 1 at Hikurangi, just north of Whangarei, about 4.15pm on Friday. Police released Myka’s name yesterday as the only person who died in the crash. Five other people were hurt. Police said their thoughts were with Myka’s family.
Myka’s death is the only one on New Zealand roads so far this year, although there have been a number of serious crashes.
For the official holiday period, which began at 4pm on Christmas Eve and runs until 6am tomorrow, Myka’s death marked the 10th on New Zealand roads so far for that period.
In other serious crashes, an injured man spent six hours trapped in his overturned car after driving off a road in Waikato early on New Year’s Day.
A pedestrian was critically injured in central Auckland after being hit by a car about 2am on New Year’s Day.
Another pedestrian suffered life-threatening injuries after a crash on State Highway 25 in Hikuai, Waikato, at 6.50am on New Year’s Day.
Police national road policing manager Acting Superintendent Gini Welch urged drivers to help prevent further road fatalities.
‘‘You can do that by putting away your phone, ensuring you drive free from alcohol, drugs and fatigue, wear your seatbelt, and drive to the conditions.’’
Provisional figures from the Ministry of Transport showed there were 320 deaths on New Zealand roads in 2020, down 32 on the 2019’s figure of 352.