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Family members struggle to understand how a woman crashed her vehicle into a tree, killing herself and her two children, in a grim echo of the death of her partner a month earlier.
Tiny Tibble, 43, was killed Monday morning along with his 14-year-old son Ashton-Lee Rangihuna and 10-year-old daughter Ana-Roimata Rangihuna when their car crashed into a tree near the small settlement. of Te Araroa. . The crash site is on the edge of a remote Texas highway, off State Highway 35 in the East Cape.
It happened a month after Lance Rangihuna, Tibble’s partner and the children’s father, died and his car crashed into the same tree.
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The accident occurred near State Highway 35, Te Araro on Monday (video first posted Monday).
Tibble’s brother, John Morice, said the couple had been together for about 15 years. He said Tibble and the children stayed with him for three weeks after Rangihuna’s death.
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* Two crashes against the same tree, one month apart, claim four lives of a family
They were building a house on the same property for her and the children.
“She was fine. I had her here for three weeks after Lance died and we planted 3,000 kumara. She treated her children like my children. They were happy as. We were preparing a pool for the children.”
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The late Lance Rangihuna, who died on the same road a month before his partner, Tiny Tibble.
Tibble and Rangihuna had a lawn trimmer business, and Morice said that he had recently overhauled all of the trimmers for his sister.
“We were going to partner up and move on, so she could keep her mind busy and have an income.”
When he received a call at 6.30am on Monday, he thought it was his sister who was calling for help mowing the lawn. Instead, they told him to go to the crash site.
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Tiny Tibble and his children Ashton Rangihuna and Ana Rangihuna, who died in an accident on Monday.
“Emotions are rolling in right now, you just have to follow it,” he said.
He said that his sister had 18 brothers and half brothers, so the tangi, in the marae of Te Araroa, would be a great event.
It is believed to be the first time that three bodies have landed together on the marae.
Hamiora Huriwai, Lance Rangihuna’s cousin, said the family was in shock.
It had been a tragic year for Rangihuna, with the death of her father earlier in the year and the death of several other elders in the family.
“We have lost a lot of our people … all the elderly.”
The deaths of Rangihuna, her partner and their two children had left a big hole, he said.
“They were a big part of the community. They did a lot for the community [and] schools, mowing the lawn. “
The family was “very close,” Huriwai said. “We work as a great team, our family: all the cousins, nieces and nephews. We all grew up together. “
Huriwai said the deaths of the children were very difficult to process.
“That hurts. It’s really tragic because they haven’t lived their own lives yet. Everybody’s taking it badly. We’re all grieving.”
Huriwai said there had been a lot of speculation in the community about what was behind both crashes, but that he was waiting for more information from the police.
“We will have a better idea once the police notify us. Put the puzzle together. “
Tony Wall / Stuff
The scene of the accident: a pebble road just off the main road, next to a quarry.
Huriwai said the family appeared to be fine after Rangihuna died a month ago.
“They were strong, they were moving on with life, they were going to move on … We had a barbecue together [after the death] with his kids. They were all good, big smiles, happy. We had lamb tails, we hugged like we usually do, everything was fine.
“The children were happy. We were attentive to them. “
Monday’s accident “came out of nowhere.” But Huriwai said that the Rangihuna family was strong.
“We are tough. They raised us tough. Our parents were tough, our grandparents were tough. It’s in the blood: handle a lot of things and deal with them. They raised us like this. “
The kids were fine. “The [Ashton] I could do anything The girl was also going in a good direction at school, very smart. They were raised in te reo and tikanga and everything Maori. They had a bright future ahead of them. “
Police are continuing to investigate both crashes and were referring the case to the coroner.
“This was an absolute tragedy and there will be many in the community affected,” Detective Sgt. Eric Hunter said.
“Police, victim support, and other partner agencies are working to support the whānau, friends and the community.”
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