Mother calls for tougher boy racers laws, 12 years after daughter's death in street race

It was February 19, 2013.

Maree Schafer was excited to start a hairdressing course at the Eastern Institute of Technology the next day.

That night, three cars - a silver Holden Commodore, a blue Ford Falcon, and a grey Nissan Skyline were street racing near Napier.

The Commodore continued through an intersection, going well over 180km/hour, when the driver lost control, slid sideways across the road, and crashed into a tree.

There were three occupants in that car. One was 18-year-old Maree. She died at the scene.

Twelve years later, and boy racer events are still happening.

People are injured, cars totalled, police intimidated, and, people die.

Just last month, riot police clashed with what the Police Minister’s called “cowardly, try-hard idiots” in Levin and Palmerston North – and police are preparing for more gatherings.

Today on The Front Page, Coreen Schafer, Maree’s mother, tells us what she’d say to one of these kids, and what life is like after losing her daughter to street racing.

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Producer: Ethan Sills

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