A fundraising page set up for the family of the woman who died in last Friday's crash on State Highway 6 in the Kawarau Gorge had passed $21,000 by Wednesday evening, the Lakes Weekly Bulletin reported.

The woman, a 37-year-old Cromwell resident originally from Argentina, leaves a partner and a two-year-old daughter. The Otago Daily Times reported on Monday that she had lived in New Zealand since 2020 and was on her way home from work when the crash happened. A friend who set up the Givealittle page described her as a devoted mother who was always thinking of others.

Police have not formally released her name, and the Herald is not publishing it.

The crash happened at about 3.10pm on Friday 30 October, on the Cromwell end of the gorge not far from the Roaring Meg power scheme, where the highway winds between Cromwell and Queenstown. Police said one person died at the scene and the Serious Crash Unit was notified. A Hato Hone St John spokesperson told the Bulletin a second person, with minor injuries, went by road to Lakes District Hospital. Two rescue helicopters also attended.

The highway through the gorge was shut for the scene examination and reopened overnight, with traffic between Cromwell and Queenstown diverted via the Crown Range in the meantime.

Police told the Bulletin they were now making enquiries on behalf of the coroner, which is the standard course after a road death. No cause has been given.

The Givealittle page is intended to cover everyday costs for the woman's partner so that he can spend time with their daughter. The ODT reported donations had passed $12,000 on Monday; the Bulletin put the total at more than $21,000 by Wednesday night. Argentine media have also reported the death, and the ODT said the woman's wider family lives in Mar del Plata.

The Kawarau Gorge road is the main link between Central Otago and Queenstown and is heavily used by Southlanders heading north through Cromwell as well as by freight. It was the second fatal crash on SH6 in the Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago area in a month, after a single-vehicle crash near Kawarau Falls on 4 October in which one person died and three were hurt.

Southland has also had a death on the same highway this week. One person died in a single-vehicle crash between Lumsden and Dipton on Tuesday afternoon, and police had not released that person's name by Thursday.

Anyone who saw the Kawarau Gorge crash or who has dashcam footage from the gorge on the afternoon of 30 October and has not yet spoken to police can call 105.