The young Dunedin woman who died in a crash which also killed her partner was a mother to three young girls.
A fundraising effort has been started for Erica Kay Ward's children after she was killed when the car she and Cody James Cowie were in crashed head-on into a truck on State Highway 1 between East Taieri and Allanton in Dunedin early on Friday.
The girls are being looked after by Miss Ward's mother, Brenda Ward.
Jason Grove started a Givealittle page to raise money to support the children, having been friends with Miss Ward and worked with her mother.
"I wanted to make sure the kids are looked after,'' he told The New Zealand Herald yesterday.
"[Brenda's] just lost a daughter and now she's looking after three young kids. The last thing she wants to worry about is money.''
Mr Grove said Miss Ward was a "lovely person''.
"She was really good with her kids, she loved her kids to bits.
"These little girls, and Brenda have it tough enough dealing with this awful loss, so any form of support to assist them through this horrible time in their life and hopefully further through these young girls' life would be kindly appreciated,'' the Givealittle page reads.
It appeared Miss Ward (27) and Mr Cowie (24) were travelling north about 3am on Friday when the crash occurred.
Police have remained quiet as to the cause of the crash, yesterday offering only that "the police investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing''.
