The entirety of a memorial left at the Edmund Rd pedestrian crossing in Rotorua in tribute to Paige Johnson have been taken.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe showed up, and it was completely gone; it hasn\u2019t even been a year since Paige passed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnson, 24, was struck by a motorcycle<\/a> as he tried to cross the pedestrian crossing on the afternoon of June 15, 2025. He died in the hospital from critical injuries three days later.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was our superhero in our family, and he could do things that no other person could.\u201d<\/p>\n Matthews said she was angry and disappointed when she discovered there was nothing left of her brother\u2019s memorial.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s empty. It just didn\u2019t feel real when I first went there, like it never happened.\u201d<\/p>\n Matthews acknowledged it \u201cwasn\u2019t exactly the smallest\u201d memorial but said it was \u201cvery well-maintained\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had people go down there twice a week just to check up and clean it, making sure that there were no cable ties on the ground, no wires on the ground, making sure there was nothing that could damage other cars or people.\u201d<\/p>\n She said there were six poles on the crossing, \u201cabsolutely covered\u201d in flowers from the top of the pole down, but most of the memorial was in the centre of the crossing.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s mainly where Paige\u2019s stuff was hung, just because it was safer for people to stick and stay in the middle of the crossing.\u201d<\/p>\n She said that whole section was decorated before it had all been taken. <\/p>\n \u201cThere are a lot of words I could use, but it\u2019s just heartbreaking.\u201d<\/p>\n Among the items taken were a handcrafted diamante teddy bear and a specially made bangle with Johnson\u2019s name on it attached to one of the crossing posts.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand that the flowers and stuff will be hard to return, but there were little symbolic things that were down there.\u201d<\/p>\n She said she would visit the memorial on a \u201cregular basis\u201d because she lived nearby. <\/p>\n \u201cIf it was becoming a problem, we do work with the community with the crossing, and we\u2019re happy to change things, but not change everything.\u201d<\/p>\n She said Paige was a massive person in the community, \u201cjust because of who he was\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there\u2019s going to be one flower taken, there\u2019s going to be 10 more to replace it.\u201d<\/p>\n Rotorua Lakes Council said they had nothing to do with the removal, and Matthews said she had been in contact with the council and police about the removal but, to date, nothing has been done.<\/p>\n Matthews said she had an image of the person believed to be responsible for taking the memorial items.<\/p>\n Following Johnson\u2019s death, Matthews said she had been working with a transport safety adviser, suggesting CCTV footage be put in the location of the crossing.<\/p>\n \u201cNot only because of what happened with my brother, but also because of what happens in that area.\u201d<\/p>\nPart of the memorial at the pedestrian crossing on Edmund Rd in Rotorua where Paige Johnson, 24, was struck by a motorcycle.<\/p>\n
Flowers at the pedestrian crossing on Edmund Rd in Rotorua where Paige Johnson was allegedly struck by a motorcycle.<\/p>\n