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Girl dies in NZ crash with grandmother
Karen Atwood17 Sep 2009
A London couple lost their three year-old daughter in a car crash in New Zealand which also killed her grandmother and a cousin.
Jeffery and Lini Harper, of Isleworth, were in Britain at the time of the death of their daughter, Iva, and Mrs Harper's mother, Sera Eades, 60. Their car hit a telegraph pole in the New Brighton area of Christchurch yesterday.
Mrs Eades's husband Michael, who was driving, was the sole survivor. His cousin Valerie Bryan, 68, from Leicestershire, also died in the crash, which happened on the way to hospital to visit Mr Eades's mother.
Iva was due to start nursery at Isleworth Town Primary School next week. The Harpers, who are travelling to New Zealand, moved to Isleworth when Mrs Harper got a job as a GP.
Mrs Eades had taken her granddaughter to New Zealand to see family and had arrived on Monday. Friends of the family spoke of their shock and said Mrs Eades and Iva were "inseparable". Sue Crabtree, 40, said: "They are just the most lovely people ever. Anyone's lives they came into contact with they touched. Sera looked after all of us, we are just devastated. You honestly couldn't meet a nicer family."
Mr Eades, known to friends as Geoff, is said to be "inconsolable". His brother John McCombe said Mr Eades decided to drive after catching the bus to hospital on the three previous days of his visit. "They spent the day visiting the hospital, but the combination of jet lag, no sleep and stress has come together," he said.
