I think you'll find that "Reece" is traditionally spelt both as "Rhys" and "Reece. Nothing bogan-ish about that!

Hit-run driver claims baby's father Jerry Ngaronoa
Article from: The Daily Telegraph
By Vikki Campion

June 13, 2008 12:00am

BABY Chardonnae Breeze has been robbed of her hardworking father after a hit-and-run driver left him for dead.

Jerry Ngaronoa was killed crossing the Hume Highway at Casula, in Sydney's southwest, yesterday.

He died just two weeks before his 16th birthday, leaving his five-month-old daughter and de facto wife Sincerely "Ceallie" Karaitiana-Turnbull, also 15.

Ms Karaitiana-Turnbull vowed to stay strong for her baby after seeing the body of the once promising rugby player on the road.

"I am young but I have to be strong, I can't let my baby down, I can't let myself down. I can't let her see me this way," she said.

"She will grow up without a father. He was a loving man and devoted to us. He would go to the moon and back for her."

Police were on the trail of the driver after finding an abandoned hotted-up Holden Commodore in Liverpool about 5pm yesterday, just streets from where the accident happened.

Investigators expected to speak to the owner but police said it did not mean the owner was driving.

Mr Ngaronoa worked as a labourer to support his family.

"He grew up when he knew we were going to have a child," Ms Karaitiana-Turnbull said.

"He was not a typical teenager, never trying to be in the hood, to be a gangster. He would get up to Breeze in the night so I could sleep. He is the first person I fell in love with and he is gone but I have a piece of him in my daughter."

Jerry's father Ian Scott, 40, told how he cradled his dying son in his arms. "I saw him lying on the road, it is his blood on my shirt as I held his head, trying to wake him," he said.

"That is what I had to face as a parent, as a father. This person, whoever they are, has to come forward and face what they have done. They cost a life."

Friends in Mr Ngaronoa's close-knit Maori community left flowers and cards at the scene.

"This motorist has a legal obligation to come forward and, I hope, as a human being he has a moral obligation to do so . . . We just want the truth," Senior Sergeant Peter Jenkins said.

Forensic examiners last night removed parts from the car before the vehicle was towed to a holding yard. Police are also examining pathologist reports, toxicology results and CCTV.

Mr Ngaronoa's mother, who was holidaying in New Zealand, flew home last night. For his father, the last memories of his son alive were also some of the best.

"We were watching State of Origin, had a bet on, he went for the Reds and won $40. My son was a beautiful kid," Mr Scott said.

Chardonnae Breeze? Gonna cost a lot more when the new tax comes in after 1 July.