Kiwi killed in Australia by drunk teen in stolen ute

  • 22/03/2017

The woman killed when a stolen ute hit her car head-on in Australia was a New Zealander, it has been revealed.

Pamela Clark, originally from Whangarei, died when she was driving home from work near Geelong in Victoria, when a drunk teenager in a stolen ute went the wrong way on a roundabout and crashed into her car, Channel 7 reports.

It happened just before 1am on Sunday. "I was just on verge of sleeping and heard it and thought oh, I know that noise because we've had accidents out here before," witness Sandra Adams told local media.

"The cars… there was lots of smoke and just chaos really and everyone just running to try and help."

Police classified the incident a high-speed crash, and are investigating whether drugs and alcohol were factors.

Ms Clark, 35, had made Bellarine Peninsula her home, he mother says.

"She was bubbly and she had an infectious laugh. She'd run on the beach at Ocean Grove every morning with her crazy German short-haired pointer Pippa so lots of people would have known her from down there," Ms Ogle told the Geelong Advertiser.

"She was so dedicated to helping everyone else and working hard, that's what makes this so hard.

"It's just not fair. This is worse than heartbreak for us all."

Her workplace, Oakdene Vineyards, posted a tribute to her on Facebook, praising her as a "beautiful soul".

"Pam was a little ray of sunshine, slightly quirky, always smiling, happy and ready to lend a helping hand. She had a special way of making everyone feel like family (staff, customers and friends) and we are all devastated that she was taken from us too soon."

Newshub.