‘She’s not letting it break her’
At seven months pregnant, Timaru woman Chadae Preston was looking forward to starting a happy new chapter in her life but all that changed after a car crash last Sunday.
Preston’s partner Paul Jon Hatherley, 30, was killed when the vehicle he, and two others were in, collided with a milk tanker at an intersection at Clandeboye, near Timaru, just before 1am on April 8.
‘‘I’m gutted he won’t get to meet his daughter who will be born in like eight weeks,’’ an emotional Preston said on Sunday.
Losing her ‘‘very popular’’ part- ner was not the first tragedy Preston has had to face.
In March 2016, Preston and Hatherley’s three-year-old son Felyx Rhys Hatherley was killed after being hit by a falling log at his father’s workplace.
‘‘It was two years, one month, and two days ago - to the day, that we had Felyx’s farewell,’’ Preston said.
A funeral for Paul Hatherley was held in Christchurch on Friday but family and friends gathered for another memorial which paid tribute to his passions in life at Pleasant Point on Sunday.
Dozens of cars lined up for a procession along the town’s main street before an organised session of burnouts.
The tribute to Paul replicated a similar memorial held in honour of Felyx in 2016, which also saw cars form a procession along Pleasant Point’s main street
‘‘We’re going to lay some skids on a skid pad like we did for Felyx’s farewell.
’’It’s very cool to bring him back to Felyx’s hometown,’’ she said.
Mark Benny, a good friend of Paul Hatherley, said the memorial day was about getting everyone together to celebrate Paul’s life and the way he enjoyed life.
‘‘He’s a man of gold. He’s always there for his family through thick and thin, even through all the devastating things he’s gone through.’’