Crimeupdated 27m ago3 min read
MapPunjabi Newlyweds, Brother-In-Law Identified After Car Crashed Into BurgerFuel in Takanini
“the circumstances of the crash were unclear.”
“The police said they had received no driving complaints before the crash,”
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL · Cropped for layout
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Three Punjabi family members killed in Takanini BurgerFuel crash during Diwali night Newlywed couple Sukhdeep Singh and Sukhvir Kaur, plus brother-in-law Gurpreet Singh, identified
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Diwali crash in Takanini
Three Punjabi family members, Sukhdeep Singh, 33, his wife Sukhvir Kaur, 29, and their brother-in-law Gurpreet Singh, 38, were identified after a car crashed into a BurgerFuel restaurant in Takanini on Diwali night. Daljit Singh said the crash happened at around 10.15pm on Sunday, November 8, on Great South Road in Takanini when the vehicle left the road and hit the restaurant, and New Zealand Police confirmed all three occupants died at the scene. The Serious Crash Unit attended the scene and an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash is ongoing, while the restaurant was closed and no one inside was injured.
RNZ said the vehicle was believed to have been travelling at more than 150 km/h, and 1News said the crash happened just minutes after the victims left a Sikh temple in Manurewa. The Supreme Sikh Society and Central Sikh Association said the community was in shock after the deaths, and Daljit Singh said the families had asked for the bodies to be sent to India after formal police identification.
Identifications, speed claims
Daljit Singh told RNZ that the bodies had been identified as Sukhdeep Singh, 33, his 29-year-old wife Sukhvir Kaur, and brother-in-law Gurpreet Singh, 38, and he called it a "huge tragedy." Daljit Singh said, "They were actually celebrating Diwali at the Manurewa Gurudwara, where they were coming from when this incident was happened," while RNZ said the circumstances of the crash were unclear. 1News said the driver had spent about seven years building a life in New Zealand and ran his own business, and it said the three victims were aged 29, 33 and 38.
The New Indian Express said Takanini police received no driving complaints before the crash, the vehicle was not reported stolen and officers were not pursuing it when the accident occurred. The Herald said Manurewa-Papakura ward councillor Daniel Newman told it that initial information from police suggested the car left the road and "became airborne" before colliding with the BurgerFuel building.
Repatriation and fundraising
Community representatives and friends organised a fundraiser to support repatriation, and RNZ said a Givealittle page had raised close to $12,000 by Thursday night. The Indian Weekender said the community was organising a fundraiser to support the families and quoted a Givealittle page saying, "We are a group of friends coming together during a heartbreaking time to support the families of three beautiful souls." Daljit Singh said the bodies were expected to be released following the completion of the required processes, and he told The Indian Weekender that release was most likely to take place on Friday, November 13.
RNZ said it was hoped their bodies would be released by the coroner on Friday morning, and it said once that happened they would be washed and a Sikh preacher would say prayers before they were sent back to India for cremation, as per the families' wishes. The Indian Weekender said tentative arrangements included an Ardas at South Auckland Funeral Services on Monday and tentatively planned return to India on Tuesday, November 17, while Singh stressed the arrangements were provisional and could change.