\u2018\u2018Sometimes \u2014 as shit as it is \u2014 you\u2019ve just got to keep going.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Cromwell mum Tracy Stroud said after the death of her 17-year-old son Kelan in a horrific car accident, setting up a defensive driving course to stop other parents suffering the same pain she had was something she could do to help her cope.<\/p>\n
The Stroud family requested a Givealittle page be set up to raise money for local teenagers to complete a defensive driving course, and when $24,090 was raised, it meant new Cromwell drivers could attend the Street Smart programme at Highlands Motorsport Park, through the Kelan\u2019s Gift programme.<\/p>\n
A further $750,000 three-year support package was given by the Tony Quinn Foundation.<\/p>\n
Mrs Stroud and her husband Michael were praised in Coroner Heather McKenzie\u2019s report into Kelan\u2019s death, for their \u2018\u2018valuable and lasting contribution\u2019\u2019 to their community.<\/p>\n
Mrs Stroud said it was nice to be recognised for their contribution, but that was not why they did it.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018We did it because it gives his life meaning.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018It\u2019s not a very good club to be in, and if we can stop other people being in this club, or even if it just saves one person, it makes it all worth it.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Kelan Michael Ray Stroud died in a crash on SH8, near Cromwell, on March 27, 2024, on his way to work at Fulton Hogan, in Alexandra.<\/p>\n
Ms McKenzie\u2019s report said he was driving his new Subaru Impreza along SH8, when he decided to pass a Mainfreight truck-and-trailer unit about 6.30pm.<\/p>\n
However, he did not have enough room to pass and he hit an oncoming Delta aerial work platform truck, the side of the Mainfreight truck-and-trailer, and then a Toyota car behind the Delta truck.<\/p>\n
The driver of the Delta truck told police he was hoping Kelan would pull back in, but he decided to keep passing.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018When I realised they weren\u2019t pulling back in to their lane, I started slowing down and when it came to the \u2018oh shit\u2019 moment, I slammed on the brakes and slightly veered to the left and braced for impact, I guess.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018The impact happened about in line with the back of the cab of the [Mainfreight] truck.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Ms McKenzie said the Delta truck rolled and came to rest on its side, but the driver managed to escape.<\/p>\n
The Mainfreight truck driver heard a loud bang and felt his trailer swing slightly, so he pulled over.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, Kelan\u2019s vehicle had started spinning and rolling.<\/p>\n
After colliding with the Mainfreight and Delta trucks, Kelan\u2019s vehicle also hit an oncoming car at low speed.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018His vehicle came to rest on the road. Kelan died at the scene,\u2019\u2019 Ms McKenzie said.<\/p>\n
She found the cause of death was \u2018\u2018non-survivable\u2019\u2019 head injuries.<\/p>\n
The New Zealand Institute for Public Health and Forensic Science recorded no relevant toxicology in Kelan\u2019s system, and a police serious crash unit investigation found there were no \u2018\u2018suspicious or untoward circumstances\u2019\u2019 surrounding the crash.<\/p>\n
Mrs Stroud said since the programme was established, about 90 young people from Cromwell had been through the driver training, and it had been so successful, it was now being expanded to include young drivers in other parts of Central Otago \u2014 such as Becks and Ranfurly.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018I didn\u2019t want them to miss out, even though half those kids have been probably driving tractors and could back a trailer better than anyone else.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018Most of them have to pull out into a 100kmh road to get anywhere, so I really wanted the rural kids to have the opportunity and not be forgotten about.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
She said Kelan\u2019s death had brought so many people together who probably never would have.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018As horrible as it is, it\u2019s brought people together, and hopefully we will be saving lives by bringing awareness to the danger,\u2019\u2019 Mrs Stroud said.<\/p>\n
Ms McKenzie said given the family\u2019s actions, she had no recommendations that could prevent similar incidents in the future.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018I wish to acknowledge the courage Kelan\u2019s family has shown in the midst of their grief, by looking forward to help prevent deaths occurring in similar circumstances.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018I commend their courage in supporting the Street Smart programme to help prevent further deaths.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018I thank Kelan\u2019s family for their valuable and lasting contribution to the community in such difficult and sad circumstances.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u2018\u2018Sometimes \u2014 as shit as it is \u2014 you\u2019ve just got to keep going.\u2019\u2019 Cromwell mum Tracy Stroud…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":369859,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[111,43,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-369858","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-new-zealand","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-newzealand","11":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=369858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369858\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/369859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=369858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=369858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=369858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}