3 S’poreans Killed in New Zealand Camper Van Crash

Last Updated on 2023-05-16 , 12:56 pm

News media outlet New Zealand Herald (NZ Herald) has updated that three Singaporean undergraduates from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have passed away after their camper van crashed on the South Island of New Zealand on 17 April 2023.

The victims were 21-year-old Ms Sherwin Chong Shi Yun, 21-year-old Ms Yang Xinyue, and 24-year-old Mr Vincent Lim Jia Jun.

The crash occurred at approximately 1 am along Te Moana Road near Geraldine. 

A witness immediately alerted emergency services after observing that the rental camper van the three students were travelling in had collided with a barrier at the road intersection on State Highway 79. 

The impact caused the vehicle to ignite and burst into flames.

The Accident Was Traumatic, Even to Firefighters Present at The Scene

According to the Timaru Mayor, Mr Nigel Bowen, campers frequently used the section of State Highway 79 where the accident occurred. 

The involved camper van was rented from Tourism and Travel Ltd, a Canterbury-based company that has been producing certified New Zealand-made campervans and motorhomes since its establishment in 2016. 

The company’s owner and employees expressed distress regarding the incident, as accidents involving their camper vans were rare.

Upon receiving the incident report, emergency responders and trained medical personnel were immediately dispatched to support the accident site.

Among the responders were 11 volunteer firefighters, including three who had won a national crash rescue competition. 

Mr Graeme Mould, the chief of the Geraldine Fire Brigade and one of the volunteers, stated that the accident scene involving the camper van was traumatic and one of the most severe sites he had ever encountered.

Although the cause of the crash remains unknown, Mr Mould mentioned that the traffic on that particular section of State Highway 79 had increased in 2022, potentially contributing to a higher risk of accidents happening on Te Moana Road. 

However, he added that he had not witnessed such a major accident in a while, and none of his newer team members had ever experienced an accident of that magnitude in their careers.

NUS expressed deep sadness over the unfortunate road accident and has contacted the undergraduates’ families to provide all possible assistance and support. 

They also expressed profound regret at the accident and extended their condolences to the affected families and loved ones.

Accidents Involving Singaporeans Overseas

Despite these statistics, Singaporeans have previously been involved in camper van accidents in New Zealand. 

In May 2017, a Singaporean couple died after their camper van collided with another vehicle on a highway. 

According to a New Zealand coroner’s report in 2021, Mr Chin Tze Hau, the driver, appeared to have either been driving without awareness or experiencing micro-sleep at the time of the accident. 

Microsleep is defined as short bursts of sleep lasting only a few seconds. During these episodes, a person may appear awake, but their brain is not fully processing external information as it would during full wakefulness. 

Consequently, Mr Chin and his wife, Ms Ong See Yee, passed away on the spot on State Highway 1 near Bankside, about 40km south of Christchurch.

Similarly, another tragic accident occurred in Hokkaido, Japan, in April 2023, where a 41-year-old Singaporean woman and her four-month-old daughter lost their lives. 

The family was driving a rental car in the ski town of Kamifurano around 11.30 am when their vehicle collided with a truck driving straight ahead. 

There were no traffic lights at the junction, but there was a stop sign. 

The collision killed the woman and her baby while injuring her 44-year-old husband and older daughter. 

The truck driver was unharmed.