• Emma-Jane Sylvia Kupa, 11, died in a crash in Flaxmere while cycling with her sister. 
• Her parents, Shannon Davis and George Kupa, are seeking justice and urging greater road safety awareness. 
• The Flaxmere community is supporting the family with donations and a fund to help them. 

The heartbroken parents of an 11-year-old girl killed while cycling with her sister in Flaxmere are urging drivers to act as if it’s their own “babies” in front of them on the road. 

Emma-Jane Sylvia Kupa died when she was hit by a car on Chatham Rd on Thursday evening. 

A 34-year-old woman arrested by police after the crash was due to appear in Hastings District Court charged with driving in a dangerous manner, with police not ruling out further charges. 

Emma-Jane’s parents, Shannon Davis and George Kupa, told Hawke’s Bay Today they and their whānau are struggling to cope with the devastating loss. 

On the day of the crash, Emma-Jane was helping her mother sprinkle cheese on a lasagne for dinner before heading to the shop with her sister. 

Davis said her last words to her daughter were simple but now carry deep weight: “Thank you, baby.” 

“She was a real bubbly person,” she said of Emma-Jane. 

“She liked watching TV, sleeping, and she loved drawing.” 

The family were at home, talking with friends, when they received a call that would change their lives. 

Shannon Davis with her daughter Emma-Jane Sylvia Kupa. 

“At first, we were told it was my older daughter, the 15-year-old. But when we got around the corner, my oldest daughter told us it was Emma-Jane who had passed away,” Davis said. 

“It was horrifying,” Kupa recalled. 

He said his last moments with Emma-Jane are alive in his memory. 

“She gave me a kiss on my cheek after school. That was the last kiss I got from her.” 

The couple say they are trying to stay strong for their four other children, especially Emma’s 7-year-old younger brother, who was very close to her, and for her older sister, who witnessed the crash. 

“We’re not coping, but we’ve got to hold it together for the rest of our kids,” Davis said. 

“Our other children are broken.” 

A photo of the family together: Saige, 15 (from left), Emma-Jane, 11, beside her mum Shannon Davis, Chevy-King, 7, in front, and dad George Kupa besides Raiden, 16, and Kayla, 19. 

The parents are now focused on seeking justice for Emma-Jane, and hope the ongoing police investigation will not only bring that, but also lead to greater road safety awareness. 

“We want people to slow down, to use their brains, and think twice before jumping in a car,” Kupa said. 

“Next time, it could be their babies or someone else,” Davis said. 

The family has received support from the Flaxmere community, with donations of food (Kai Koha), hygiene items and heartfelt messages of condolence. 

One Voice Community Services Trust has been co-ordinating support efforts and a fund has been set up to help the family through. 

A memorial to Emma-Jane, who was on Monday at Te Aranga Marae, has been created at the site where she was killed. 

The Flaxmere community has been paying tribute to Emma-Jane Sylvia Kupa by leaving flowers and gifts at the site where she was killed. Photo / Rafaella Melo 

As part of the tangi for the young girl, a service will take place on Tuesday at 10am, followed by a convoy passing her school, Flaxmere Primary School, before heading to the crematorium. 

“She was very unique to me,” Kupa said. 

“Forever my baby.”