The incident in Queens Dr claimed the lives of Konnor Steele, Indaka Rouse, Kyah Kennedy (all 16, of Bluff) and 17-year-old O Maruhuatau Otuwhare Tawhai, of Invercargill, when the Ford Ranger they were in collided with a truck about 4pm on Friday.
As emergency services rushed to the scene, a man who parked 10m away from the wreckage took out his cellphone and began to livestream to Facebook.
The resulting footage showed him first observing before he became involved in efforts to get inside the damaged vehicle.
He told the Otago Daily Times he had been unaware of the severity of the crash and tucked the phone in his pocket to continue filming, capturing harrowing images of the victims.
The video remained online until early the following day.
The witness said he eventually deleted it "to respect the families and those young kids" but later admitted it had been removed at the request of police.
A former Invercargill resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said she came across the disturbing film on the man’s Facebook profile while reading the comments attached to an online news report.
"I just felt sick ... It’s such a massive breach of privacy," she said.
"I just think it’s the lowest of the low."
She called police at 11pm and by the time she got off the phone, the post had had more than 200 views, she said.
A spokeswoman said a senior officer contacted the man behind the footage and received confirmation it had been taken down a few hours later.
It would appear it was too late for at least one person connected to the victims.
The filmer - whom the ODT has chosen not to name- said he was contacted by a man online who was "going nuts".
"I just apologised and said there was no intention to disrespect the family," he said.
Having lost his daughter to a crash last year, the man said he could understand the outrage.
Bluff Community Board chairman Raymond Fife, on behalf of the community, said he was "stunned" to hear of the man’s online exploits.
"People need to realise they’ve got to show a bit of respect out there at any crash site," he said.
"I’m glad [police] jumped on it quickly."
While concerned about disseminating such graphic images, police said the man had not committed a crime so could not be charged.
Christchurch lawyer Kathryn Dalziel agreed. While the video may have been traumatic if viewed by the family members of the teens, she said the man could not be prosecuted under the Harmful Digital Communications Act which required proof of intent to cause harm. Rather, it was more likely a breach of the tort of privacy, Ms Dalziel said.
While the original video had been removed from online, there remained the potential it had been uploaded by others.
"We urge anyone who has shared it since it was originally posted to delete it immediately," police said yesterday.
