An 8-year-old boy was killed while following his father across a highway after their vehicle broke in the Waikato yesterday.
He was named today as Thomas Evans, from Auckland.
Emergency services were called to State Highway 5, about 500m west of Whites Rd, between SH1 and the SH28 in Tapapa, southeast of Tirau at 4.51pm.
Initial police inquiries indicate that the pair's Toyota ute had broken down.
The father crossed the road to get some water for the vehicle's radiator, leaving Thomas in the ute.
It appears Thomas decided a short time later to follow his father across the road and was hit by a car.
He died at the scene.
The driver of the car that hit Thomas was not injured.
