‘I am numb’
Woman whose mum was killed two years ago loses brother after Waikato head-on ambulance crash
One of the drivers who died in a head-on collision between a car and ambulance in Waikato lost his mother two years ago after she was set on fire by a mentally unwell man.
Deon Hadley died at the scene after his silver Audi collided head on with an ambulance on State Highway 1 near Cambridge about 3.45am on Wednesday.
The tragedy took the life of Ariana Hadley’s brother, two years after she lost her beloved mother, Tania Hadley, in a homicide.
Ariana said she was feeling “numb”. Her brother has been remembered as a kind and generous man who was still finding his way after the death of his mother.
“He was a very kind-hearted person,” she said. “He did love a lot of people and care for them.”
An ambulance officer who had served St John for 55 years was taken to Waikato Hospital with critical injuries and died the following day. Her name has not been released.
In May 2020, Deon’s mother died after her tenant doused her in petrol, set her on fire then slashed her throat at her home in Mt Roskill, Auckland.
Her tenant, ex-convict Damien Charles Chandler, was charged with murder but found not guilty by reason of insanity the following year. He was ordered to be held at a secure mental health facility for at least 10 years.
Ariana is remaining stoic amid the second shock loss of a close family member in a little over two years as she makes arrangements for her brother’s farewell.
Ariana said her brother, 33, had been struggling after his mother’s death and was unemployed. He was living at his late mother’s house in Mt Roskill but had travelled south on a journey of self-discovery, Ariana understood.
“I think he was just going to find himself,” she said.
Deon served as a family spokesman after his mother’s death.
Shortly after Chandler was charged, he spoke of how he was kept in the dark about how she died as he waited anxiously for news about her at a police cordon.
“Everyone else knew before I did,” he said outside the High Court.
Outside the same court the following year, Deon said he and his sister were pleased with the outcome and hoped Chandler would never be released.
He described his mother as a hardworking woman who “dedicated her life to her career and her children”.
“She was generous with love, and she was taken way too soon,” he said.
The driver of the ambulance who died was a St John patient transfer officer from Rotorua decorated for her decades of service.
She was appointed a Member of St John in 2004 and also served as a volunteer firefighter with her local brigade, the Herald understands.
Her name has not been released and the family have not spoken publicly.
Hato Hone St John Ambulance operations deputy chief executive Dan Ohs said the organisation was devastated.
“They are one of a very small number of ambulance officers to lose their life in the line of duty in New Zealand in the last 80 years,” Ohs said.
The officer was driving the ambulance from Hamilton to Rotorua when the crash happened and she suffered critical injuries.
“The officer was airlifted to Waikato Hospital and despite a brave fight succumbed to their injuries and died with family by their side,” Ohs said.
A registered nurse travelling as the attendant in the ambulance was taken to the same hospital and is in a stable condition. There was no one else in the ambulance. Ohs said the officer was a “well-respected and long-serving member of the Hato Hone St John wha¯nau”.
The crash happened near the Hicky Rd intersection between Cambridge and Karapiro at or near a bend on the road on double yellow lines.
Both vehicles were left mangled wrecks and debris was strewn across the road.
Waikato Chamber of Commerce chief executive Don Good called the stretch of road between Hickey Rd, where the crash happened, and Piarere a “death trap” that had claimed “an unacceptable number of lives”.
“Road users, local residents and Chambers have appealed for urgent action for the right safety measures to be put in place and have been ignored.”
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency speed and infrastructure programme director Dave Van Standen said safety improvements were well underway for the road between Cambridge and Piarere.
“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy. Any death or serious injury on a New Zealand road is unacceptable.”
Police inquiries continue.