Teen who died in crash a good kid who made a bad choice, whāngai mum says

A woman who spent years helping to raise a teenager who was killed in a Palmerston North car crash has spoken out about social media fallout after the death of two more youngsters. 

"We just [laid] our son to rest last week," Joylene Hiroki wrote on a Facebook page after the deaths of Meadow James, 12, and Ihaia McPhee-Maxwell, 15, who fled from police in a stolen car and crashed on Monday.

"People, be sensitive to this whānau, man. My boy's passing is still too real, and to read some of your fellas' comments is mamae (sore).

"Let this whānau grieve without your harshness. Hold back the negativity until these babies are [laid] to rest by their grieving whānau."

WARWICK SMITH/STUFF

Joylene Hiroki, left, and Michelle Peipi raised Mitchell Peipi-Johansen, who died after his car hit a fence in Palmerston North earlier this month.

Mitchell Peipi-Johansen, 18, died in Wellington Hospital on May 14, nine days after he crashed into a fence in Highbury, Palmerston North. His whāngai parents, Hiroki and Michelle Peipi,​ said Peipi-Johansen made a "stupid, silly" decision, and paid the price of showing off, trying to drift his car. 

News of the deaths of Ihaia and Meadow just outside the city had been tough while the family were still grieving.

Ihaia, the driver of the stolen car, was a distant relative, and it was likely Peipi-Johansen knew both him and Meadow, Peipi said.

Social media discussions surrounding the second crash prompted Hiroki to urge people to think more carefully about their public comments.

She initially spoke out on a Facebook group where comments ranged from condolences to the families to "won't do that again", and "good job, serves them right". 

Hiroki said some comments went too far, too soon.  

"These kids were mischief ... they stole a car ... they obviously made a stupid, silly choice, but we were all a teenager at one point. These kids are never going to walk back through the door," she said.

"Mitchell was mischief, and he made a stupid mistake. He's paid for that ultimate mistake and we're having to deal with that ... it's going to be a long journey for us."

Peipi-Johansen had recently turned up with a car borrowed from a friend, and the couple had forbidden him from driving it until he had more lessons and got his licence. 

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Whānau try to reach Mitchell Peipi-Johansen after a car crash in Highbury Ave, Palmerston North, on May 5.

"He was actually quite a responsible, good driver, I thought," Hiroki said of their lessons. 

But on the night he crashed he finished work early and drove the car by himself from his home in Masterton to Palmerston North to see his brother who was visiting from Auckland. He had been drinking in Palmerston North, and wanted to show off to his cousin who was standing at the end of the driveway.

He sped down the street, put the car into a slide and flashed a gang sign out the window before the car slammed into a concrete fence, the couple said.  

The crash, at the corner of Highbury Ave and Moray Place, was outside the papakāinga – "his family homestead" – where the extended family were gathered.  Uncles and cousins were immediately on the scene trying to help him, but he never woke up. 

"He had a big cheeky smile," Peipi said. "It all ended with his cheeky smile," Hiroki said. 

Peipi-Johansen had a rough childhood, she said. His birth mother died when he was 6. Hiroki and Peipi, his first cousin, became his whāngai parents and took him in. For several years they were unable to care for him, and he was looked after in a state foster home, before coming back to them when he was 11. 

He went to Makoura College in Masterton, and then finished a course at Taratahi farming training centre with good marks, and began working fulltime at a bacon processing factory in Carterton, and was saving for a trip to Rarotonga with his whāngai mothers. His goal was to save enough to buy a house before he was 25. 

WARWICK SMITH/STUFF

From left, Michelle Peipi, Mitchell Peipi-Johansen and Joylene Hiroki at the grave of Peipi-Johansen's mother at Kelvin Grove cemetery.

He was a joker, loved socialising and had lots of friends. He had also joined a Highbury "whānau gang",  but the colours didn't define him, Peipi said.

Recently, Peipi-Johansen intervened when a 14-year-old had his bicycle taken off him by bullies at McDonald's late at night. He helped the crying boy get it back, and was proud of himself for helping, Hiroki said. 

"He was a good person ... you're always going to take risks [when you're young].

WARWICK SMITH/STUFF

Mitchell Peipi-Johansen, right, with family.

"He's been our boy. He was going to have a good life and a full future."

Ihaia's funeral will be held in Palmerston North on Friday and Meadow's funeral is in the city on Saturday.