Phil would sing until he died
Phil Pratt loved singing so much he told everyone he’d sing until he died.
And that’s exactly what he did — the 87 year old sang his last number, Silver Wings , at a music club get-together an hour before he was killed in a headon crash.
The crash, on State Highway 1 south of Kawakawa, was just three minutes from his home.
Pratt was returning from a Little Tennessee Country Music Club session near Pakaraka about 4.30pm on Sunday when the Toyota RAV4 he was in and a northbound Honda Odyssey collided head-on.
He died at the scene while his wife Lois, who was driving, and another passenger were critically injured.
All three had to be cut from the wreckage by volunteers from the Kawakawa and Paihia fire brigades.
Lois Pratt, 75, and the female passenger, 67, were yesterday in a stable condition in the intensive care unit of Whanga¯ rei Hospital. Both suffered multiple fractures.
A service for Phil Pratt will be held at 10.30am on Thursday at Morris and Morris, 17 Western Hills Dr, Whanga¯rei.
A second service will take place once his wife is out of hospital.
Shirley May, founder of the Little Tennessee Country Music Club, said he had been part of the club for 30 years and a life member for 18.
He also belonged to country music clubs in Whanga¯rei and Mt Maunganui, where the Dargaville-born engineer had set up a business before returning to the North, living first in Kamo and more recently near Maromaku.
“He put his heart and soul into music,” May said.
“He loved to sing and he always said ‘God has given me this gift, so I’ll sing until I die’ — and that’s exactly what he did.”
Meanwhile, the 32-year-old driver of the Odyssey suffered only moderate injuries in the head-on smash, which occurred outside the oyster shop at Waiomio.
His passenger, also aged 32, was in a critical condition when flown to hospital.
He also remains in intensive care.
While the investigation is continuing police will say only that one of the vehicles lost control in the wet and crossed the centreline into the path of the other vehicle.