Teenage girl who died in Muriwai Beach vehicle crash named

Police have named the teenage girl who died when a vehicle rolled on Auckland's Muriwai beach on Sunday.

She was Madison Marie Chamberlain, aged 19, of west Auckland.

Two men in their twenties were injured in the crash and hospitalised.

The incident sparked calls for vehicles to be banned from the beach on Auckland's west coast, where cars can drive up to 60 kilometres per hour on some parts.

A three-day rāhui was placed at Muriwai Beach after Sunday's fatality.

But the community was divided on whether beach access should ever return.

Muriwai Community Association co-chair Clare Bradley said cars on the beach was a recipe for disaster.

"It is very much a shared zone. There are still a lot of people who are walking there, picnicking there, fishing there," Bradley said.

Auckland Council closed the beach to vehicles during the summer peak season from 29 December 2023 to 15 January 2024. It said it was working towards making sure beach driving permits were meaningful.