Woman who died in crash after fleeing police in stolen car was mum of two

The woman who died in a street crash after fleeing police in a stolen hatchback has been named by police.

Monique Marie Jennifer Lay, 27, was a mother of two who lived in Ōtara.

She died after a head-on collision with a ute on Alfriston Rd, Manurewa, on Thursday night.

A charity worker told Stuff yesterday Lay was a “lost child” raised in state care and had been trying to get her children back. She had been drinking with friends the night she died before hitting a woman on the head with a crowbar and taking her car, a witness told Stuff.

“Police extend our condolences to Monique’s loved ones during this difficult time,” Counties Manukau district commander Superintendent Shanan Gray said this afternoon.

Monique Lay, 27, died in a crash after fleeing police.

“The critical incident investigation remains ongoing, and police are continuing to establish the full circumstances around what unfolded that evening.”

The crash happened about 9.42pm, shortly after police were called to an aggravated robbery on Greenmeadows Ave.

Gray said at the time that an alleged offender was believed to have stolen a vehicle after presenting a crowbar to the occupant.

Police later spotted the car being driven in the middle of the road without headlights and signalled it to stop, but it fled.

Minutes later it collided head-on with a ute.

Lay was reportedly trying to get her children back.

Lay died at the scene, while the ute’s occupant was taken to hospital with moderate injuries.

Since the crash, tributes to Lay, also known to loved ones as “Monz Dogg”, have poured in online.

Phylis Latu of the Maranga Fanau Charitable Trust said on Facebook Lay was a client.

“We are NOT mourning you we are celebrating your life. Monique Lay you were an amazing person full of life who was unpredictable and lived to the fullest in everything you did.

“Thank you for being that caring loud person you were.”

Many have paid tribute to Lay.

Latu told Stuff Lay was a “child of the state” and had spent time in jail. She had been “trying to find her way to her children”.

A whānau pānui or public notice shared on behalf of her mother, siblings, immediate whānau and children described her death as heartbreaking.

It invited those who knew Lay to celebrate “all of her beautiful, unique self” and the impression she had left on others.

“Please come share your memories with her, sing her a song, like she sang for us all, share tears, laughs n kai ... and most of all grieve for her life taken too soon,” it said.

One person described Lay as having a “heart of gold, the voice of an angel and the most contagious smile”.

Another friend said she could not stop replaying Lay’s final voice message, remembering her saying: “Hope you have a beautiful day my Zay.”

 
Lay was driving a stolen hatchback that crashed at high speed into a red ute on Alfriston Rd in Manurewa.

She recalled Lay as loud, bubbly, talkative and funny, and remembered one occasion when their car broke down and caught fire in the middle of nowhere.

Lay responded by dancing in the road.

“You made every moment special, it was never a dull moment,” the friend wrote.

Another person said she had known Lay since she was an 11-year-old girl in a Mangateretere School uniform and had regarded her as a little sister.

Police are investigating the fatal crash.

A relative described Lay as a “very strong wahine” who had endured considerable adversity.

“You have been through all the wars and still managed to overcome them,” the tribute said.

Others spoke of Lay’s love for her children, with one person saying her “babies were her everything”.

One friend said she had spent time with Lay just hours before her death, laughing, talking and sharing a heart-to-heart conversation.

They had made plans to sing karaoke together on Saturday.

“Never would I have thought that would be the last time we’d ever sit and talk like that,” the friend wrote.

“I’ll always remember the laughs, the kōrero and the good moments we shared.”

Police investigations into the crash are continuing and the Independent Police Conduct Authority has been notified.