Mum dies after fleeing police in stolen car after drinking session in New Zealand – as tragic details about her troubled past emerge
A charity that had been helping a young New Zealand mother prior to her death following a police chase over allegedly stealing a car have revealed details about her troubled past.
Monique Marie Jennifer Lay, 27, has been identified by police as the woman who died in a head-on crash at Manurewa in Auckland’s south on Thursday night.
Witnesses claimed she had earlier been drinking with friends before she allegedly attacked a woman with a crowbar and stole her car.
Police confirmed officers were called to an aggravated robbery in Greenmeadows Avenue, Manurewa shortly after 9.30pm.
A few minutes later, police saw the stolen hatchback driving without headlights and signalled for the vehicle to stop, but it sped off.
The vehicle later collided head-on with a ute travelling in the opposite direction. Ms Lay, the sole occupant in the stolen car, died at the scene while a woman in the ute was hospitalised.
Her death has sparked an outpouring of tributes from devastated family and friends, as further details about Ms Lay’s troubled past emerged.
The Maranga Fanau Charitable Trust was among those helping Ms Lay in the year prior to her death.
Monique Lay died in a head-on crash at Manurewa in Auckland’s south last Thursday night
The mother-of-two had been working to regain custody of her two children
Investigations into the fatal head-on crash involving a stolen vehicle continue
Staff said she was a ‘lost child’ who was raised in state care and had previously served time in jail.
Ms Lay had been fighting to regain custody of her children – the youngest just one-year-old.
‘She was trying, she was doing extremely well,’ the trust’s Phyllis Latu told Stuff.
‘She was one of the most giving people that I’ve ever met. She helped many of our clients, (tried) to get them on track, but she lost her way.
‘She’s been a lost child for a number of years and she was trying to find her way to her children, and I guess trying to get a sense of belonging to where her place was and her family.’
Heartbroken friends shared similar sentiments on social media.
‘The system failed you as we all know, and now you are gone,’ one user wrote.
‘But I promise you, you will never be forgotten and we will make sure your story is known.
Heartbroken friends say that Monique had been trying hard to turn her troubled life around
Monique leaves behind two young sons
‘It’s our turn to man-up and break this system, so that this never happens to anyone else.’
A public notice shared on behalf of the family invited those who knew Ms Lay to celebrate ‘all of her beautiful, unique self that she has imprinted onto so many lives’.
‘Please come share your memories with her, sing her a song, like she sang for us all, share tears, laughs n kai (food)… and most of all grieve for her life taken too soon,’ it read.
A critical incident investigation in the crash continues.
‘Police extend our condolences to Monique’s loved ones during this difficult time,’ Manukau District Commander, Superintendent Shanan Gray said on Tuesday.
‘Police are continuing to establish the full circumstances around what unfolded that evening.’
