Easter crash rips young family apart
Siamak Mosaferi would watch his eldest son Arteen closely as the boy played on their quiet Hamilton cul-desac.
The four-year-old was always outside riding his bike and his dad was always there watching him, making sure he never rode past the end of the driveway.
It was a common sight for neighbours on their Huntington street, a sight that will never be played out again.
On Good Friday the preschooler with bright brown eyes and a cheeky grin and his only sibling, two-month-old Radeen, were fatally injured when the vehicle they were in collided with another car and two trucks on the Desert Rd near Waiouru.
Arteen died at the scene and Radeen died at Starship Hospital on Sunday from injuries.
Their mother, Dr Mohadeseh Sharifi, a scientist for AgResearch, is in a critical condition at Waikato Hospital. She does not know that her two babies have died.
Their father suffered moderate injuries.
A neighbour of the family, Edward Scott, said he saw how much the parents doted on their children.
‘‘It’s horrible, they are a really nice family,’’ Scott said.
‘‘The little boy was always outside riding his bike, but his dad was always there watching him.
‘‘He was very protective of his son and wouldn’t allow him to ride in the quiet cul-de-sac alone, only to the end of the driveway.
Mosaferi is originally from Bandar-e Anzali in Iran. He and his wife moved to New Zealand in 2008, and he gained a Masters in Engineering from Auckland University in 2013.
Six people lost their lives on the nation’s roads over the 2018 Easter long weekend.
The toll has surpassed last year’s Easter weekend of two.