A boy who died on a dairy farm in Ōpōtiki was ‘too good for this world’

A photo of Rozayah Hudson smiling as she clutched a pile of driftwood in her tiny arms is a reminder to her family of who he was: a little boy trying to make his koro proud.

The 6-year-old, who died in a “tragic accident” on a dairy farm in Ōpōtiki last week, was a cheeky and caring boy with a big heart, his family said.

Police were called to the farm in the eastern Bay of Plenty on Thursday night last week after Rozayah was fatally injured.

“He was too good for this world and God needed him back,” said his mother, Stormie Topp.

“My son is at peace now … [he] He will always be remembered as a loving, loyal, helpful and generous child. Always putting others first, before himself. “

Rozayah’s family is still shocked by his sudden loss, knowing that they will never see his toothy smile again or hear him talk about their favorite dinosaur.

“He loved dinosaurs, he loved them. Right before he started school, he knew almost all the names of every dinosaur,” said koro’s partner Kelsey Herewini.

His favorite was a stegosaurus, he said.

Herewini didn’t want to say what had happened to cause Rozayah’s fatal injuries, only that it had been a “tragic accident” on the farm, and that he “just wanted to make his koro proud.”

“It’s been a huge shock to the system, you know? You never expect these things, but now that he’s not here with us anymore, it’s just heartbreaking. There are no words to describe it.”

Herewini has known Rozayah since she was 1 year old and said she spent a lot of time with her and her partner on the farm.

“He was a very cheeky but also very affectionate boy … I really wanted to do the mahi (work) with koro.

“He liked to come with us camping and fishing. We even took him eel once.

“I think he just wanted to be like his koro. He wanted to do everything his koro wanted to do. He was a very enthusiastic kid.”

Herewini said the family should remember him for the “cheeky happy boy he was” and hold on to the memories.

“I wouldn’t want all of us sitting here crying and hurt … if I saw someone crying, I would comfort them.”

Topp told the Herald that Rozayah was “my heart, my love and my everything.”

“Now that he’s gone, I need to be strong for my youngest children and be his rock, because my son was mine. I need to be at peace for him. It would bother him to know and see me broken and hurt, so I will be strong for him. “

She said she was “so blessed” to be his mother.

Topp remembered him as a boy who loved sports and was good at all sports.

“He was also quite shy and distant, but he also listened well and helped all the children his age at the local elementary school.”

He would sit for hours and read books about dinosaurs, teaching his mother their names.

“My heart is very numb and it is very cold without him.”

His death has been referred to the coroner.

Police said in a statement Saturday: “We acknowledge the anguish of family and friends during this difficult time and our thoughts are with them.”

A WorkSafe spokeswoman said the death was the third on a New Zealand farm in a week, after a tractor death in Te Kūiti followed by a second tractor-related death in Hastings.

Worksafe continues to investigate Rozayah’s death.