A wedding chauffeur asked a bride to walk down the aisle an hour after her car was involved in a fatal accident when they arrived at the church.
The woman and two other members of her bridal party were driven into the grounds of St. Cuthbert’s Church in Governors Bay, Christchurch, when the car collided with a motorcycle in an “almighty explosion”.
The impact sent shards of broken windshield flying over them, and as the driver got out he saw that the bike had been catapulted into branches ten feet above a tree.
Delivered / things
Friends remembered Broughan as “hilarious” and with an “open-minded personality that everyone loved”.
Motorcyclist Josh Broughan – known to friends as Joe – was abandoned in a ditch and died on the scene.
CONTINUE READING:
* Three fatal accidents on a “black day” on the streets of Canterbury
* US presidential election: Bernie Sanders supports former Democratic rival Joe Biden
* Joe Giudice eats “from the country in Italy” – and that includes the consumption of raw garlic
After the crash, the chauffeur informed the bride and her group that there was nothing they could do and encouraged them to proceed with the wedding.
The ceremony took place on Saturday about an hour late.
Speaking to Stuff on Tuesday, the driver of the wedding car said he didn’t think he did anything wrong to cause the collision, although the reason for it has yet to be determined by crash investigators.
Joseph Johnson / Stuff
The wedding at St. Cuthbert’s Church in Governors Bay was postponed for an hour after the crash.
The man Stuff agreed not to give a name had slowed to 5 to 10 km / h in the 50 km / h zone and had his right ad on as he approached the church.
“I looked at the street and you can only see about 50 meters, maybe a little more,” he said.
“With nothing there, I turned into the church and was three feet across the street when there was just one incredible explosion.
“The car barely moved so neither of us got thrown forward … We were covered in glass from the windshield that was broken.”
Joseph Johnson / Stuff
In honor of the late motorcyclist Broughan, flowers were placed near the scene of the accident.
He got out of the car, a black classic Citroen, and saw that the front left side was badly damaged.
The motorcycle appeared to have hit a bench and came to rest ten feet above a tree. The driver the driver believes hit his left fender was in a ditch behind the car.
“All of a sudden there were people everywhere and someone was saying to me, ‘You can’t move it,’ so we didn’t.”
One of the bridal parties called emergency services and firefighters got to the scene within three minutes.
“We were all shocked,” the driver recalled. “[The bride] was very sympathetic to me; they all were.
“They hugged me tight and so on and I said, ‘Look, you should just get on with your wedding. There is nothing you can do. ‘”
He said the couple postponed the wedding for about an hour before continuing. He didn’t think the couple knew the man had died.
Two other motorcyclists, friends of Broughan’s, arrived at the scene shortly after the accident. The couple also hugged the driver.
The driver said no one in the car saw the motorcyclist before the accident.
He said they were in no rush to get to the ceremony, adding that he had stopped for 10 minutes on the way as they didn’t want to be early.
“I didn’t do anything wrong and couldn’t have traveled much slower,” he said.
“I’m really upset that the guy died. I think it’s really awful and I keep having flashbacks and so on. It’s not very pleasant. “
The driver was taken to Christchurch Hospital for an examination but was not injured.
It goes without saying that Broughan was an avid motorcyclist.
Joseph Johnson / Stuff
The driver of the wedding car said he didn’t think he did anything wrong to cause the collision.
Friend Brock Timperley described him as “really unique”.
“He had a fun, outgoing personality that everyone loved,” he said.
“Joe was the most loving, kindest, and giving person I have ever met. Joe did a lot for me and my family, he became part of our family.
“We just can’t thank him enough. We are all devastated to lose him. “
There were honors online too, friends described him as a caring man with a great sense of humor.
“You always made me laugh and always tried to cheer me up when I was down. Thank you for being you, ”said one.
Another person said they missed “our jokes” and the laughter they had shared over the years. “I still can’t believe it’s real – gone way too soon.”
The fatal collision was the first of three accidents on New Zealand’s roads within 12 hours.
One person died when a car crashed and rolled just before 6 p.m. north of Warkworth, Auckland on Saturday.
Less than three hours later, 14-year-old Simon Norris died in a car accident on Mai Mai Valley Road near Reefton.
The fourth death occurred shortly after 2 a.m. on Sunday in Whanganui.
One person died after being trapped in the wreckage of a car that collided with another in Whanganui.
According to crash data from the Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, there have been at least 54 deaths on New Zealand’s roads so far this year – six fewer than in the same period last year.
Five happened on Canterbury’s streets.
