“I lost my job back in 2023,” Mandeep Singh said.
Three people died on Sunday night after the car they were traveling in lost control at a roundabout on Great South Road, left the road, and crashed through a BurgerFuel restaurant in Takanini, according to police and reporting from 1News and rnz.co.nz. Emergency services responded to the scene just after 10:15pm. No one inside the building sustained injuries.
The victims have been formally identified as Sukhdeep Singh, 33; his wife, Sukhvir Kaur, 29; and their brother-in-law, Gurpreet Singh, 38. Sukhdeep Singh had lived in New Zealand for seven years and operated an NZ Post courier business, while his wife arrived just six months earlier.
Gurpreet Singh had lived in New Zealand for three years and worked as an NZ Post courier driver, with his wife and young son remaining in India, according to the Supreme Sikh Society.
Did You Know? The newlywed couple and their brother-in-law had attended Diwali celebrations at a local temple on Sunday night before the fatal crash occurred.
Police are investigating what caused the vehicle to leave the road, and formal identification processes are underway. Reporting indicates the vehicle is believed to have been traveling at more than 150 km/h before it crashed into the restaurant.
Exterior damage to the Takanini outlet was extensive, leaving glass and a broken fence scattered across the storefront with windows boarded up. Photographs from the scene showed the car as a mangled wreck, with skid marks visible on the footpath near the roundabout roughly 20 meters from the building.
BurgerFuel’s head of brand and marketing, Nikki Soons, stated that the company’s thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with the families and everyone affected by the tragedy. Sikh leaders also extended condolences on behalf of the community as police investigations continue.
Mandeep Singh remembered his close friend Sukhdeep Singh as a kind and helpful man who supported him after he lost his job in 2023. “If you want to come with me, we can deliver parcels together. I’ll help you,” Mandeep Singh recalled his friend telling him.
Mandeep Singh also helped establish a Givealittle fundraising page, which has raised more than $20,000 to cover the cost of repatriating the victims’ bodies to India and supporting their families. He urged the public not to speculate on the cause of the crash while police investigations are ongoing, “He did not use to drink alcohol,” Mandeep Singh said, noting that his friend did not use alcohol.
“Police are doing their best to investigate what happened, and we have to wait until the results comes,” Mandeep Singh said.
The victims were Sukhdeep Singh, 33, who operated an NZ Post courier business; his wife, Sukhvir Kaur, 29; and their brother-in-law, Gurpreet Singh, 38, who worked as an NZ Post courier driver.
The BurgerFuel outlet suffered extensive exterior damage, with shattered glass, a broken fence, and boarded-up windows following the impact.
A Givealittle fundraising page has raised more than $20,000 to help cover the costs of repatriating the victims’ bodies to India and provide financial support for their families.
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