Takanini BurgerFuel crash: Three victims killed in South Auckland named

The restaurant was closed and no one inside was injured. All three occupants of the car died at the scene.

Gurpreet Singh, 38, Sukhvir Kaur, 29, and her husband Sukhdeep Singh, 33, were killed in the Takanini BurgerFuel crash. Photo / Supplied

Singh previously told the Herald the victims were a husband and wife who had married about six months earlier, and their brother-in-law.

They lived in South Auckland.

“The communities are in great shock because this is a huge tragedy that happened here in Auckland,” he said.

He said one victim was a self-employed businessman “well-established” in New Zealand.

“He was well-settled, came to New Zealand a few years back. But his wife just came six months ago.”

Family members had spoken to them earlier during Diwali. They had no idea “how this could have happened and what’s gone wrong”, Singh said.

“They are in shock at this stage.”

The car crashed over a metal gate and into the BurgerFuel building. Photo / Hayden Woodward

Singh said relatives and friends described the family as “very lovely” and “good” people.

Their families have asked for their bodies to be sent to India after formal police identification.

The local iwi has organised a karakia at the crash scene for Monday.

“We will do our prayer at the same time and then send the bodies back to India,” Singh said.

He said the tragedy has caused an outpouring of shock and support from the community.

The scene of the crash on Monday morning.

Car ‘became airborne’ before crashing into building

Manurewa-Papakura ward councillor Daniel Newman previously told the Herald “people are very sad” about the tragedy, but he remained “confounded” by the circumstances of the crash.

Newman said initial information from police to the council suggested the car left the road and “became airborne” before colliding with the BurgerFuel building.

Witnesses estimated the vehicle had been travelling at speeds “way over” 100km/h in a 50km/h zone.

Witnesses described seeing the car travelling at speeds over 100km/h before the crash. Photo / Hayden Woodward

A delivery driver told the Herald they witnessed another vehicle almost get hit by what they believed to be the same car involved in the crash a few minutes before the incident.

Newman said the circumstances were difficult to comprehend.

“This is a tough part of town, so you know, people have experienced tragedies in their life, but this is such a sad moment.”