A man has been charged with careless driving causing death after a Samoan seasonal worker died in a car accident in New Zealand on Sunday.
The police have named the victim as 36-year-old Vaetasi Selesele Asiata.
Photo:
The police said the single vehicle crash was reported at five o'clock on Sunday afternoon in Mount Maunganui.
They said two other people were injured in the crash suffering moderate to serious injuries while four other passengers were not seriously injured.
A 35-year-old man was charged with careless or inconsiderate driving causing death and is due to appear in the Tauranga District Court on Wednesday.
The Chief Executive of Samoa's Labour Export and Employment Division, Lemalu Nele Leilua, said the occupants of the vehicle were all seasonal workers, heading home after their shift.
She said they were tired and had fallen asleep, including the driver.
Lemalu told Samoa Global News Vaetasi was part of a team of 10, who left Samoa last November to work in New Zealand's Recognised Seasonal Employers scheme (RSE).
The team was originally employed in Hawke's Bay but moved to Tauranga to pick kiwifruit, she said.
Due to return to Samoa in June before the team's contracts were extended, Vaetasi was then booked on a 31 July flight which was rescheduled when Samoa's State of Emergency regulations were amended.
Lemalu said the changes allowed only one repatriation flight every three weeks instead of every two.
Earlier this month it was reported that repatriation flights to Samoa were paused to prevent quarantine facilities from being overwhelmed.
Vaetasi and the injured workers were expected to board a repatriation flight this Friday but Lemalu could not confirm if those injured would be able to fly.
Plans to repatriate Vaetasi's body were yet to be made, she said.
He is reportedly survived by his wife and one-year-old daughter, for whom there has been an outpouring of grief and condolences on social media.
