A Tongan national, Pesi Tuivai (44) has been confirmed to be one of four victims who passed away after a devastating collision between two cars on a New Zealand highway yesterday afternoon 10 October.

The other victims of the collision are yet to be confirmed but include a 5-year-old boy, a 56-year-old woman and 60-year-old man. It is not yet confirmed if the three victims are Tongan or passengers in the opposite vehicle that collided with the vehicle the Pesi was in.

Eight people were injured in the crash including Pesi’s 10-month-old daughter who is reportedly in critical condition at a hospital in Auckland. Pesi’s devastated family talked to New Zealand media today, expressing their sadness and asking for prayers.

Pesi and others were travelling from Auckland to Palmerston North where Pesi lived. Pesi Tuivai was a recently ordained lay preacher of the Free Weslyan Church of Tonga. She was reportedly due to deliver her first sermon in a few weeks.