School mourns boy who ‘brought warmth and care’ after horror Desert Rd crash
Friday, 5 June 2026
Hamilton woman Leidy Andrade Avirama and her two sons, aged eight years and seven months, were killed in a devastating crash on the Desert Road.
Avirama's 11-year-old daughter was left fighting for her life in the hospital following the collision, while an older daughter was not in the vehicle.
Speaking from Colombia, Avirama’s mother, Zully Avirama, says she is struggling to get information about the crash and is facing hurdles securing a humanitarian visa to travel to New Zealand.
Tributes are flowing online from the Colombian ex-pat community in New Zealand, who are rallying around the family and fundraising to support them.
A “kind, thoughtful, and quiet leader” who gave his all at school is being remembered after he died alongside his mother and brother in a horror crash on the Desert Rd.
Hamilton’s Aberdeen’s school posted a tribute to eight-year-old James Martinez Andrade, who died on Monday with his seven-month-old brother and their mother, Colombian-born Leidy Andrade Avirama
With “heavy hearts and the deepest sadness” they shared news of his death and said the boy was “a truly special part of our school community”.
“Rest in peace, James. You will be so dearly missed,” they wrote in a social media post.
“We will always remember him as a kind, thoughtful, and quiet leader—a gentle giant who brought warmth and care to everyone around him.”
The school said James loved his family and enjoyed spending time with friends.
“He proudly participated in Pasifika, loved reading ‘Dog Man’ books, and gave his all on the sports field and in everything he did at school,” the school wrote, offering their “thoughts, love, and sincerest sympathies” to family and everyone who loved him.
The school also acknowledged James’s older sister, also a pupil at the school, who also attends the school is currently in hospital.
James’s grandmother Zully Avirama said James “is and always will be a wonderful child”.
“He was one of the greatest joys of the household, even though his mother raised him practically on her own,” James’s grandmother Zully Avirama told Stuff from her home in Colombia.
Avirama on Thursday said she was in a “terrible state” as she mourns her “superwoman” daughter and two young grandchildren.
Leidy Andrade Avirama and her two sons, aged eight years and just seven months, were killed in the crash on SH1 in Waiouru over the weekend.
Zully Avirama told Stuff she was struggling to get information on the crash that took the lives of her daughter and two grandsons.
“We know almost nothing,” the grieving grandmother said.
Zully also said she faced hurdles in obtaining a humanitarian visa to come to Aotearoa.
“I just pray that my granddaughters won’t suffer now that their mother is gone,” she said.
“My daughter was a warrior,” she told Stuff.
“She managed on her own with her four children and never complained about her hardships. She was the best mother, friend, sister, and daughter. She was the one who emotionally helped me get through my father’s death.
“Even when she was sad, she always had a big smile. She loved her family with all the love in the world. In a word, a superwoman.”
Do you know more? Email chris.marriner@stuffdigital.co.nz
Leidy Andrade Avirama was a prominent member of the Colombian ex-pat community in New Zealand and the community is rallying around the family, Stuff understands.
Family in New Zealand earlier shared details in an online fundraiser, saying Leidy had died alongside her sons, with her 11-year-old daughter the sole survivor.
Other members of the Colombian community have been sharing tributes online.
“The tragic departure of our friend Leidy and her young children leaves us with immense pain that is difficult to put into words. As Colombian migrants in New Zealand, we often live busy working, fighting for our families and pursuing our dreams, and sometimes we forget how important it is to stay together as a community,” one man wrote.
“This tragedy leaves me with a deep reflection: despite the differences, distances, and challenges we face in a foreign country, we still have the opportunity to support, accompany and build together.
“Rest in peace. Your memory will live forever in our hearts.”