Teen dies in race | Northland News | Local News in Northland

A teenage driver killed at Kaikohe Speedway at the weekend was mourned by her fellow competitors yesterday.

Samantha Mouat, 15, died after her ministock car crashed at Kaikohe Speedway's Easter Stampede and Demolition Derby about 4pm on Saturday.

Organisers of the popular speedway race  are not sure what caused her car to slam into a wall. She died as her family looked on in horror.

An emotional church service was conducted yesterday  morning by kaumatua Wally Harris and the fire brigade minister Tiana Savage.

All drivers displayed wreaths in front of their cars.

The wreaths were then laid at the site where she died.

Ministock drivers also did a lap of honour after the church service, before races resumed.

More than 200 drivers took part in 22 different grades.

Hundreds from all age groups turned up to witness the races on a patchy day yesterday,  oblivious to the tragic event.

Kaikohe Speedway secretary Debbie Beadle  said it was difficult to say what happened in the lead-up to the crash.

"The track was in perfect condition, safety of the vehicles and drivers were good ... it was just unfortunate that it happened.

"She may have accelerated ... who knows. We couldn't have done anything more."

She said Samantha's vehicle flipped on two wheels then righted itself before the crash.

Ms Beadle said it was best to wait for police and the Ministry of Labour to complete their investigations.

She said Samantha's funeral, to be attended by ministock drivers, would be held either tomorrow  or on Wednesday at the Baypark speedway track in Mt Maunganui.

She had been racing for only a year and those who knew her said she was well-known and very competitive in the sport. Despite the tragic accident, Ms Beadle said spectators poured in to enjoy the races in Kaikohe.

She said about 5000 people turned up on Friday and Saturday and with the demolition derby to go late yesterday,  the number could hit 7000.

 Ministock drivers' representative Michael Wells  had known Samantha for two years and said she was lovely and always smiling.

He described her death as a "freak incident" but was not prepared to talk about it in detail.

Serious crash investigator Senior Constable Warren Bunn  said police were helping the Department of Labour investigate the crash.

He could not release details about the investigations, only saying that it was an unfortunate motor vehicle accident.

Ministock racing is primarily designed for young drivers.

The vehicles are designed to resemble stockcars but are a non-contact class.