Bluff mourns crash victim
Haka performed as body of teenager is carried into marae
Aprocession of cars slowly rolled through the streets of Bluff yesterday to deliver the body of one of the four teenage victims of last week’s fatal crash to his local marae.
As the coffin of 16-year-old Kyah Kennedy was carried through the gates of Te Rau Aroha Marae his former Southland Boys High School classmates performed a haka which bellowed down the hill over the seaside town.
Kennedy died on April 22 in a head-on collision with a truck on Queens Drive, Invercargill, shortly after 4pm.
In the ute with him were friends Konnor Steele, 16, Indaka Rouse, 16, and O Maruhuatau Otuwhare Tawhai, 17. All died at the scene of the crash.
A crowd of loved ones gathered around 1pm yesterday at the gates of the marae halfway up Bluff Hill.
A line of at least a dozen cars followed Kennedy’s hearse to the marae.
Several bystanders stood to watch the haka in the drizzly afternoon.
Kennedy was known as a talented sportsman.
A Givealittle page set up by his softball club has already raised more than $6000 for his whānau.
Te Rau Aroha Marae spokesman Dean Whaanga told the Herald a tangi for Kennedy will continue there until Friday, when a service for the Bluff teen will be held.
It is understood the bodies of the four teenagers were returned to families in Bluff and Invercargill on Monday.
An online statement from Te Rau Aroha Marae said Kennedy’s “immediate whānau will bring their precious taonga, beloved son, beloved brother, back to the marae.
“Kyah will lie in state and remain in Tahu Potiki until Friday”.
Local Ngāi Tahu iwi from the marae visited the families last night and have been providing support since the accident.
A service for Konnor Steele, who lived just a few blocks away from Kennedy, will be held at the Bluff Rugby Club tomorrow at 1pm.
The Ngā Hau E Whā marae in Invercargill is also helping organise a tangi for Tawhai.
It is understood that a funeral for Tawhai — known to family and friends as “Maru” — will be held tomorrow.
Truck driver speaks
Meanwhile, the truck driver involved in the fatal collision returned to the street where it happened the next day, visibly distraught.
Rhys Wilson, 52, was behind the wheel of the truck carrying concrete involved in the head-on crash along the city’s Queens Drive.
The Invercargill resident was seen sitting on the berm beside the crash site with his head in his hands crying after 3pm on Saturday.
“Yeah, I was back there just trying to get some closure, that was all,” Wilson told the Herald on Monday.
When asked how he had been coping since the accident Wilson admitted the past days had been “pretty rough”.
“I’ve got some good support. I’m getting better. I just feel sorry for the people in the car,” Wilson said.
“I’m okay . . . I’m recovering with friends and family. .”
Police are still investigating the cause of the crash.
Givealittle pages to support the families of Tawhai and Rouse have also been set up.