Tributes pour in for musician

The death of a young musician and father killed in a wrong-way car crash in Christchurch has left his loved ones devastated.

Jordan Gow was driving on Russley Rd (SH1) in Burnside around 6.45am on Sunday when his car collided with another vehicle.

The second vehicle, driven by Tane Anderson, was headed the wrong way down the motorway with no lights on for up to a kilometre before the crash. Anderson was also killed. He was a former St Bede's College student and an apprentice electrician, according to Facebook.

Gow, a twin brother and a father to a young girl, was also a well-known rock musician who played drums and sang in several groups including metal band Arcadian NZ.

A Givealittle page set up by the band’s former vocalist Gareth Fleck paid tribute to Gow’s personality and talents, which could “light up a whole room”.

“The news of Jordan’s passing has shocked the community,” Fleck wrote.

“Jordan is loved by so many, his passion for music truly touched us all. He was a loving father of Ashlyn, partner to Amy Jones, brother to Josh, son to Penny & Murray Gow and friend to many.

“Jordan was the definition of a person that could light up a whole room. He was always there to whip out a guitar and get the whole room singing along, his passion for music unparalleled.”

“You could hear his laugh and singing voice from blocks away, the energy that Jordan brought to his live performances was incredible, he always put 110 per cent into anything music related.”

The Givealittle page has been set up to fundraise for funeral costs and any other expenses the family may incur. The page is still pending moderation.

Tributes for Gow have flooded social media. One man said he had woken to the “heartbreaking news of the passing of my best friend”.

“He was someone I could open up to and talk to about anything, he was so incredibly talented and was passionate about so many things in life.”

The pair had just achieved Gow’s dream of writing their first full album and had been recording in the studio the day before the crash.

As of last night there had been 129 deaths on the roads since January 1. That’s well down on last year thanks to the lockdown during April.

However, June 2020 is on track for a similar road toll to June 2019. Last June 28 people died; as of last night — halfway through the month —the June 2020 road toll was 14.