“He loved my mum, and I came along with her, so he loved me just as hard. When I had him, he was the best dad I could have asked for.”
The teenager said the past few years had been “rocky at best”.
But she said his death was “premature, unnecessary, and tragic”.
“I cannot put into words how horrible I feel. Things were never supposed to end this way.”
Making the teenager’s grief worse, flowers and a card she left yesterday in tribute to her stepfather at the scene where he died had already gone.
“It hardly even took a day for them to be stolen. To the people who took those, sincerely, enjoy the bad luck.”
She said taking flowers from a memorial site was a “disgusting” thing to do.
“In hard times, people are supposed to come together and support one another. Instead of making comments about, stealing from, or gossiping about the dead, show some respect and allow the whānau to grieve.”
Rotorua police are asking anyone who was in or around Ford Rd between 8pm and 8.45pm on Friday to contact them.
Detective Inspector Lew Warner said police also wanted to hear from anyone who saw a white Toyota Hiace van with the registration number DFR734 in Ford Rd or the surrounding areas.
Anybody with information should contact the police via 105, either over the phone or online, referencing file number 251212/4041.
Information can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
A forensic examination of the scene and vehicle was carried out on Saturday, and a post-mortem examination was carried out yesterday.
Police have been contacted for an update on the case.
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.