Horror Taranaki crash victims named

Crash victims (from left) Rosalie and Ian Porteous, Jeremy Thompson, Nivek Madams and baby Shady....
Crash victims (from left) Rosalie and Ian Porteous, Jeremy Thompson, Nivek Madams and baby Shady. Photo via NZ Herald
Ani Nohinohi is in Wellington Hospital fighting for her life after a horror crash yesterday which left both her daughters and her partner dead.

Nohinohi was the front-seat passenger in a car which collided head-on with another vehicle containing four people on State Highway 3 in Taranaki. She was the sole survivor of the worst crash on New Zealand roads in 13 years.

Nohinohi's daughter, Nivek Madams (8), died this morning. She had celebrated her eighth birthday on Tuesday, a day before the crash that killed her eight-week-old sister Shady Thompson and her mother's partner Jeremy Thompson (28).

Ani Nohinohi with her daughter Nivek. Photo via NZ Herald
Ani Nohinohi with her daughter Nivek. Photo via NZ Herald
Nivek was given a blessing by a Waikato Hospital pastor last night at the request of her father, Kevin, who is in prison for the murder of a gang president.

A family member said a phone was put to Nivek's ear in her hospital bed so her father and other relatives could speak to her.

The 8-year-old ''was now with her baby sister Shady in heaven and the family was grieving the loss of their two precious princesses".

Nohinohi continued her fight for life in Wellington Hospital's intensive care unit today as jockeys at Waverley Race Club wore black arm bands as a mark of respect to the four elderly people who were killed instantly in the other vehicle.

They were Ian Porteous (80), his wife Rosalie Porteous (76), Ian's sister Ora Keene (84) and close friend Brenda Williams (79).

They were all associated with the Waverley bowling club and Denis Smith knew them well.

"We'll miss them terribly," he said.

"It's a big hole in our club and words will never cover what we feel but we're all in shock at this stage. We'll all miss them terribly," he said.

"The club's only a very small club and that's a big hole in it."

Meanwhile, Nivek succumbed to her injuries in Waikato Hospital this morning, surrounded by friends and extended family.

A Givealittle page has since been set up to help the family with the expense of funerals.

It says Nivek and Shady were "close sisters and part of a caring whānau, deeply loved by their friends & family. Their tragic passing has been devastating for everyone and we are grateful for the outpouring of support from the community.

"As the new cluster of Matariki stars for those who have left us were announced these little lives sadly slid away."

Close friends shared how Nivek's father Kevin Madams was phoned in jail and allowed to share a few words with her before she died.

Madams is serving a nine year, 10 month jail term after being found guilty of the murder of Whanganui Black Power president Craig Rippon in Whanganui in 2016.

 

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