Sir Howard Morrison's moko mourned after tragically losing her life in a car crash

A "shining light from the day she was born", Kiriana Morrison was creative, positive and loved by her friends and family.

The 17-year-old granddaughter of the late Sir Howard Morrison was killed in a car crash in Auckland on Sunday morning. Tomorrow she will be laid to rest in Rotorua, alongside her grandfather.

Kiriana was a rear seat passenger in one of two cars that collided about 2.15am on Auckland's Northwestern Motorway. No one else was seriously injured.

A whanau spokesperson told the Rotorua Daily Post Kiriana was a "beautiful angel" and said the teenager's death was tragic and senseless.

"It's a shocking and preventable death. The full realisation has yet to sink in."

The spokesperson said Kiriana loved drama and the creative arts and was a "natural communicator" with a passion for kapa haka.

Kiriana will be brought back to Rotorua today . Her funeral will be held at St Faith's Church tomorrow before she is buried beside her grandfather in Kauae Cemetery.

A police spokeswoman said inquiries were continuing into the cause of the crash.

- Full story at NZ Herald