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'Felt the truck slam into us': Samoan worker recalls fatal SH1 crash

Author
Vaimoana Mase,
Publish Date
Sat, 21 Sep 2024, 12:40pm
Va'amailalo Sasi Neru, who survived a crash on State Highway 1 near Ramarama, Auckland, on August 26, 2024.
Va'amailalo Sasi Neru, who survived a crash on State Highway 1 near Ramarama, Auckland, on August 26, 2024.

'Felt the truck slam into us': Samoan worker recalls fatal SH1 crash

Author
Vaimoana Mase,
Publish Date
Sat, 21 Sep 2024, 12:40pm

Va鈥檃mailalo Sasi Neru remembers dozing off to sleep to the sound of his mates joking and laughing as they travelled in their van from the Bay of Plenty towards Auckland.

When he woke,听he saw a truck听on the opposite side of the motorway veering straight towards them 鈥 then silence.

The 42-year-old was one of six men, including five seasonal听workers from Samoa听鈥 here under the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme 鈥 in that van on Monday, August 26.

Three of them were听killed instantly听in the collision听on State Highway 1 between Bombay and Ramarama, Auckland.

They were Neru鈥檚 fellow workers and friends Leauga Jerry Leauga, 37, and Ta鈥檃vao Kelemete, 32, and their uncle Fa鈥檃ofo Uili Fa鈥檃ofo, 45 鈥 the vehicle鈥檚 driver, who is survived by his wife and six children.

Fa鈥檃ofo had offered to drive the group because he wanted to spend the day with his nephews Leauga and Kelemete before their planned听return to Samoa听later in the week.

Three men survived, including Neru, who three weeks after the crash is suffering from back pain and headaches.

The other two survivors are Luai Tavita, 39, and the 21-year-old brother of Leauga, who has serious injuries and remains in Auckland City Hospital.

Speaking from his home on the island of Savaii, Samoa, Neru recalls the moment he saw the truck suddenly swerve and crash into a vehicle before slamming through a wire barrier.

The truck veered through a wire median barrier and into oncoming traffic on State Highway 1 between Bombay and Ramarama. The truck veered through a wire median barrier and into oncoming traffic on State Highway 1 between Bombay and Ramarama.

鈥淚 thought the wires would stop them 鈥 or slow them down at least. But the truck rammed right through towards us.

鈥淚 closed my eyes when I saw the truck was about to hit us and I tried to do something to save myself 鈥 to brace myself.鈥

Neru said he was the only one in the car to make a sound, yelling 鈥淯oia!鈥 鈥 the Samoan equivalent for whoa.

鈥淚 closed my eyes and felt the truck slam into us. Every part of my body 鈥 my head, my back 鈥 was slammed around.鈥

Leauga Jerry Leauga (left) and Ta鈥檃vao Kelemete (middle) and their uncle Fa鈥檃ofo Uili Fa鈥檃ofo died in the Ramarama crash on August 26, 2024.Leauga Jerry Leauga (left) and Ta鈥檃vao Kelemete (middle) and their uncle Fa鈥檃ofo Uili Fa鈥檃ofo died in the Ramarama crash on August 26, 2024.

When he came to, he looked around to see if everyone was okay.

The only person making any kind of movement, he says, was his friend Tavita in the front passenger seat.

鈥淚 heard a voice from outside. They were calling out to turn off the van and take out the key. My head was spinning.鈥

The father of three remembers lying on the ground as members of the public worked to help his friends.

鈥淭here was a Samoan man who came and spoke to me. I asked him how my friends were and he said there were fatalities. I couldn鈥檛 talk after that. I just cried.鈥

Hundreds of Pacific workers here under the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme held a candle-lit service in the Bay of Plenty after the crash. Photo / Sooupu RSE SamoaHundreds of Pacific workers here under the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme held a candle-lit service in the Bay of Plenty after the crash. Photo / Sooupu RSE Samoa

Back in Samoa, Neru鈥檚 wife Liva and their three daughters, aged 7, 15 and 18, would not find out about the crash until later that evening, while they were out collecting coconuts.

鈥淪omeone ran out to us with the phone and it was a relative who had seen the news about the crash and knew Sasi was in the van.

鈥淚 took the call and just started sobbing. I just wanted to know if my husband was alive,鈥 she told the听Herald.

She and their youngest daughter travelled via ferry to the airport to wait for her husband, a reunion she described as 鈥渘othing but tears鈥.

鈥淲e hugged and cried and cried. There were so many emotions 鈥 we were happy to have our loved one home and devastated for the other families.鈥

On the ferry home, they happened to sit next to the widow of one of the men who had been killed. She had gone to the airport because her husband鈥檚 coffin was on the same flight.

鈥淲e cried together and she said: 鈥業 wish I was you鈥.鈥

A second chance

A day after the crash, police said the Serious Crash Unit was investigating the cause. Initial听indications were that the truck had suffered a tyre blowout听which caused it to veer off-course.

Va'amailalo Sasi Neru, pictured with wife Liva and their daughters Poto, 15, Cleopatra, 18, and Nidolta, 7, hopes to return to New Zealand to work under the RSE scheme again one day.Va'amailalo Sasi Neru, pictured with wife Liva and their daughters Poto, 15, Cleopatra, 18, and Nidolta, 7, hopes to return to New Zealand to work under the RSE scheme again one day.

Police said this week there was no further update and the investigation is ongoing.

A Givealittle page set up to help the bereaved families raised almost $59,000.

The Samoan Advisory Council in NZ has since set up a fund and听听to help the families of the surviving men.听

Neru and fellow survivor Tavita have both returned to Samoa.

The bodies of Leauga and Kelemete have also been returned there, and their uncle Fa鈥檃ofo has been laid to rest in Auckland.

Neru told the听Herald听he hopes to be able to return to work under the RSE scheme again one day, as the job helped to pay for his daughters鈥 school fees, build a fale for his family and provide for his elderly parents. Without the job, they rely on the ocean for food and income.

鈥淢y parents said to me that maybe I鈥檝e been given a second chance by God.鈥

Vaimoana Mase听is the Pasifika editor for the Herald鈥檚听Talanoa section, sharing stories from the Pacific听community. She won junior reporter of the year at the then Qantas Media Awards in 2010 and won the best opinion writing award at the 2023 Voyager Media Awards.

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