The Tauranga mother of two teenage girls killed in a Christmas Day crash in Welcome Bay reappeared in court this morning.
Labourer Phillipa Vanessa Morehu, 36, faced two joint charges of manslaughter relating to the deaths of her daughters Merepeka Morehu-Clark, 14, and 13-year-old Brooklyn Morehu-Clark when she briefly appeared in Tauranga Community Magistrates Court.
Police say the girls were sitting in the back seat of the vehicle driven by Hetaraka Hikurangi Reihana, 20, of Auckland when it collided with a ute on Welcome Bay Rd and rolled on to its roof about 4.20pm on December 25.
The teenagers, who were on their way to visit their grandmother's grave when the crash happened, were not wearing seatbelts. They died at the scene.
Reihana, Morehu, and a 17-year-old youth Haki Davey, who is believed to be Morehu's nephew, are jointly charged with two counts of manslaughter in relation to the crash.
Neither Morehu or Davey were in the crash vehicle.
Community Magistrate Sherida Cooper remanded Morehu on bail until February 23.
- Sandra Conchie of the Bay of Plenty Times
