Woman killed in Ashburton van crash was travelling with sister
A woman killed in a quadruple fatal crash near Ashburton was travelling with her sister, who she had only just seen for the first time in 18 months.
A group of country music fans were being driven to the Gold Guitar music festival in Gore on Friday last week when their driver, Avinash Chand, of Identity Tours, drove through a controlled intersection.
The van was struck by a truck and shunted into a power pole. Chand, 33, was killed along with passengers Jonathan Campbell, 54, of Auckland, and Christchurch residents Sheryll Cairns, 66, and Donald Wallace, 61.
A day before the crash, Identity Tours posted photographs of Cairns and her sister hugging at Christchurch Airport.
The post said ‘‘two sisters meeting after 1 year and half’’. It is understood the two sisters had travelled with Identity Tours previously.
An IDEA Services spokesman earlier confirmed the agency was supporting two people who survived the crash. Both have intellectual disabilities.
One is a man who lives in IDEA’s residential services in Wellington, and the other is a woman who had previously been in its services. Stuff understands the woman is Cairns’ sister.
Cairns’ family declined to comment yesterday.
The crash happened at the rural intersection of Cochranes and Wakanui roads, near Ashburton, shortly before 10am. The driver of the truck was injured, though not badly, and was taken to hospital for treatment.
Police believed the van was driven through the controlled junction, which had stop signs on both sides, in a ‘‘moment of carelessness’’.
The driver of the truck is employed by Rural Transport. General manager Mark Wareing said on Thursday the driver was ‘‘still physically sore and mentally scarred’’ but hoped to return to work soon.
Wareing confirmed the truck driver was wearing a seatbelt.
Van driver Chand was the coowner of tour company Identity Tours and worked with disabled people.
He was farewelled on Thursday at a funeral at St Mark’s Presbyterian Church in Christchurch.
Identity Tours is temporarily closed. Chand’s partner, Douglas Mack, who ran the company with him, earlier said his thoughts were with the families involved.
‘‘What happened ... has been a tragic shock for everyone.’’