Kiwi dies in France crash weeks before wedding
The mother of a New Zealand man killed in a car crash in the south of France says he was just weeks away from getting married.
Beau St George, 33, died soon after a two-car crash on a road between Valesole and Monosque in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence about 6am, local time, on Thursday.
Still reeling from the news, his mother, Liz St George, said she did not know much more about the accident that killed her son, except that it had been a head-on crash.
St George, formerly of New Plymouth, and who lives in Doubtless Bay, Northland, said family and friends had been ‘‘absolutely devastated’’ by her son’s death. ‘‘Everybody loved him.’’ She said Beau had been on holiday in France for about a month and was just weeks away from getting married to his partner, Herminie Gouard, on June 17. The couple have a 14-month-old daughter.
‘‘That’s the sad part, everyone was going over there for the wedding,’’ she said.
St George said Beau would be sadly missed by everyone who knew him.
‘‘He’s a kind, loving and very caring person,’’ she said.
Some family were gathering in New Zealand while others planned to travel to France to bring Beau home. Beau was one of St George’s six children.
‘‘Some of the family are going over and we’re hoping to bring him back as soon as they can,’’ she said.
She said Gouard was also being supported by her family. ‘‘They’ll be with her.’’ The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed it was aware of the death.
Staff had been in contact with Beau St George’s next of kin.
It is understood the stretch of road where the crash happened is notoriously dangerous.
A 30-year-old, who was driving the other car, was admitted to hospital but was not seriously injured, according to local media reports.
Police were investigating the cause of the crash.