Family struggling after double crash tragedy
THE family of the mother and son killed in a fiery crash face mounting expenses they cannot afford while they struggle to come to terms with their loss.
Trent Cole Whitburn, 20, and his mother, Margaret Jane Turnbull, 51, both of Levin, were killed when the Nissan car they were travelling in was involved in a crash with two trucks on State Highway 1 south of Sanson early on Wednesday.
Both Ms Turnbull’s car and a Big Chill truck ahead of it were travelling slowly behind two Central House Movers trucks transporting a 110-tonne catamaran when they were hit from behind by another truck.
The car was pushed under the back of the Big Chill truck and all three vehicles caught fire. Ms Turnbull and Mr Whitburn were killed outright but both truck drivers escaped unharmed.
Mr Whitburn, who knew the grief of losing a parent having lost his own father, has left behind a 14-month-old son, Hohepa, and partner Suede Morresey. Family friend Selena McDonald said Trent was one of five children, and his siblings had been left reeling by the deaths. A close family, they were ‘‘in each other’s lives every day’’, she said.
Mr Whitburn ‘‘had just got on his feet’’ and had set up a home with Miss Morresey and their child in Levin.
Ms Turnbull, or ‘‘Margie’’ as she was known to friends, had a ‘‘warm aura’’.
‘‘Her smile ... a lot of young people warmed to her and felt safe with her, and that she was there for him.’’
On the morning of the accident the pair were travelling home, having visited friends further north, Ms McDonald said. The remaining children, ranging in age from 13-26, were not sure how they were going to pay for the expenses of two funerals. ‘‘They’re picking up the pieces with next to no adult support,’’ she said.
Youth Quest Kapiti mentoring manager Darcy Hata said Mr Whitburn completed a 10-week course with them in 2011. He was helping Mr Whitburn get a fulltime farming job and last spoke to him just before Christmas.
Whenever Mr Hata asked Mr Whitburn about his son, he gushed, calling him ‘‘the bomb’’. ‘‘He was very family Family friend Selena McDonald on Margaret Turnbull, 51, who was killed on State Highway 1 south of Sanson early on Wednesday. orientated and he loved his mum; they got on really well.’’
Manawatu CIB acting Detective Sergeant Shelley Ross yesterday ruled out both the Nissan and Big Chill truck as contributing to the crash.
The Central House Movers trucks were not involved in the crash, and were making the trip with the right permits in a professional and legal manner, Ms Ross said. It was not yet known if the driver of the last truck, which was carrying produce, would face charges.
‘‘The crash investigation is ongoing and there is still a lot of information to be sourced and reviewed before any conclusions can be drawn, especially in relation to any potential criminal charges,’’ Ms Ross said.