Trio’s friends say memorial planned for scene of crash
Levin locals reeling after fiery collision with truck ends lives of best mates
Amemorial is being organised at the scene of a fiery crash which killed three best mates. Shand Cotgrove, Jacob Gray and Jesse Hayne died when the car they were hit a truck and trailer unit in Levin just after midnight on Saturday.
Cotgrove was Hayne’s older brother while Gray was their best friend. The trio, all Levin locals, were killed instantly in the crash just after midnight on Cambridge St.
The force of the collision saw the fully loaded, unoccupied truck and trailer unit pushed a metre and a half.
Locals ran to help the victims but were beaten back as the car went up in flames.
Friends say a memorial at the site is being organised for this week.
Gray had moved to Levin from Porirua a couple of years ago and worked at a garaging company, Quin Buildings, where colleagues say he was well-liked.
It is understood his friends recently moved to Levin from Porirua.
Friends of the trio have been posting their heartfelt loss on Facebook.
One wrote, “I dont usually post but shand jesse and jacob . . . I cried for the first time in years wtf . . . I love you guys soo much, im sorry seriously dont know how to feel”.
Another wrote, “Rest easy Shand Jacob and Jesse!!! My heart goes out to all your friends and family at this time Gone to soon and far to young”.
Levin mayor Michael Feyen said the crash would be widely felt in the town.
“My heart really goes out to the families and also to the people first on the scene. They have no training in anything like that.”
The former cop said emergency services had done a wonderful job, but all those involved would be “sorting through a whole range of emotions”. Counselling was available for anyone affected by the crash, he added.
A woman who lived near the crash, Sandy Cassidy, was woken by the sound of the crash and was first on the scene. Before she could reach the car, it began smoking and the tyres started popping as it caught fire.
“The whole car exploded. It was devastating,” Cassidy told the Herald. “There was nothing left of the car this morning when they pulled it out.”
She had been unable to sleep since. Her thoughts were with the dead men’s families.