A body found in a burned out station wagon near Mossburn, in Southland, has been identified as a Mossburn woman with two young children.
Miriam Ruth Preston, 31, was formally identified by police yesterday after a forensic examination of her body.
Her Subaru was found on the Aparima Bridge near Mossburn, 100km northwest of Invercargill, at 4am on Wednesday. Police said it appeared she had crashed into the bridge, and that the car had then burst into flames.
Ms Preston left behind partner Josh van der Hayden and two daughters, Jaime, four, and Chelsea, six months, her sister Clare Cooksley told the Southland Times yesterday.
Family believed she had been on her way to friends' houses to deliver news of her nephew's birth at the time of the crash, and may have fallen asleep at the wheel.
Ms Cooksley said her son had been born the day before and Ms Preston had been out spreading the news.
"She was a loud, bright, livewire who lived life to the full and was never one to stand in the shadows," Ms Cooksley told the newspaper.
Family had been gathering at her home and a private farewell is planned for tomorrow.
Winton Senior Sergeant Richard McPhail has said inquiries are continuing and anyone who may have seen the vehicle on the road should come forward.
