Fifth child dies in three weeks

A young teenage boy was killed when a car went through a stop sign and T-boned another at a rural intersection – becoming the fifth child under 18 to be killed on Canterbury roads in three weeks.

Three adults have also died in this time.

The most recent death was at the intersection of Ellesmere and Tancreds roads, near Lincoln about 4.30pm on Saturday.

The Press understands two adults and the teenage boy were heading east along Tancreds Rd in a Honda when they went through a stop sign, T-boning a Mazda SUV heading south on Ellesmere Rd with a woman and a child inside.

It was understood the boy in the back seat of the Honda was killed.

A police spokesman said initial inquiries suggested the crash was caused by a lack of concentration, though other factors had not been ruled out.

Janet Owens, who lives nearby, was heading out of her driveway when she heard an ‘‘awful bang’’.

She saw a car had smashed into a lamp post, so raced down to the corner and saw another vehicle among the trees.

Passers-by had pulled a badlyinjured teenage boy from the wreckage.

‘‘They laid him down on the grass, he was unconscious.’’

The passers-by, including a doctor who lived nearby, helped give him CPR and could still feel a pulse.

Owens said she asked a few minutes later if the CPR was ‘‘still working’’, but the doctor quietly told her the boy was ‘‘gone’’.

Owens said it ‘‘happened so quickly’’.

‘‘You just do what you what you have to do to help. You don’t know if anybody’s going to die.’’

According to NZ Transport Agency crash analysis data, there have been five other crashes at the same intersection since January 2000. Two resulted in serious injuries.

The black start to the holiday season included the deaths of four members of a Malaysian family, two aged 13 and 15. They were killed when their car crossed the centre line and collided with a truck near Kaiko¯ ura on December 6.

Janet Owen

The family had been in New Zealand for four days. An 11-yearold also suffered critical injuries and was taken to Wellington Hospital.

Another person died in a crash in South Canterbury between Waimate and Kurow on November 30. The vehicle was found at the bottom of a gully off Clarkesfield Rd, at Elephant Hill, after 12.40pm. Police have not yet released information on the person’s identity.

Two Ashburton teen sisters were killed following a fiery latenight crash on Summit Rd in Christchurch’s Port Hills on November 27.

Tayla Alexander, 17, died at the scene while her sister Sunmara Alexander suffered extensive burns and was taken to Middlemore Hospital in Auckland.

She spent just over two weeks in the critical care unit where she underwent several skin grafts and an amputation of one of her arms in a bid to stop infection spreading.

However, on Friday evening her father Jason Alexander confirmed she had died in hospital.

He has since called for barriers and other safety improvements to Summit Rd.

Family friend Kelly Foster created a petition on change.org on behalf of Alexander.

‘‘Any Harleys or V8 cars that would lead her hearse would be appreciated,’’ he said.

A funeral service will be held at Ashburton Hotel at 2pm on Friday. According to Ministry of Transport statistics, 334 people have died on New Zealand roads so far this year (21 fewer than the same time last year) including 51 in Canterbury, making it the region with the second-highest toll in the country after Waikato with 72.

‘‘They laid him down on the grass, he was unconscious.’’