A woman who died in a crash that injured 31 people in Rotorua has been described as caring, big-hearted and fiercely independent.

Teleia Thompson, 23, from Auckland, has been named by a family friend and in online tributes as the victim of Thursday’s crash.

She was a passenger in a car with two others aged in their 20s when it collided with a bus on Te Ngae Rd at 9.15pm.

The bus was carrying children from Kaiti School in Gisborne who had attended a kapa haka competition in Tauranga.

The car’s driver and another passenger remain in a critical condition, police told the Rotorua Daily Post yesterday.

Three other patients, who were in the bus, suffered moderate injuries and the remaining 26 people from the bus, mainly children, were treated at the scene for minor injuries.

Five ambulances, two helicopters, a rapid response unit, two operations managers and a major incident support vehicle were sent to the crash.

Scene of the crash on Te Ngae Rd on Thursday night. Photo / Ritik Aeehi

A tribute to Thompson was posted online by Ross McCook, a youth mentor who met her when she was a teenager attending one of his youth programmes.

McCook said he stayed in contact with Thompson and her siblings in the years that followed.

He described her as “definitely one of my superheroes”, saying many superheroes had endured some “incredibly challenging and sometimes heartbreaking things in their very tender and young years”.

“Teleia sadly passed away as a result of being in that horrendous bus/car crash in Rotorua last Thursday. We are absolutely heartbroken to hear this news.”

Teleia Thompson in a photo shared by Ross McCook, a youth mentor who met her when she was a teenager attending one of his youth programmes.

He said she was a “super caring person with a big heart” and was “funny, sassy, fiercely independent and super cheeky”.

The post said Thompson lost her mother when she was a young teen and her father in recent years.

McCook told the Rotorua Daily Post today he was “gutted” when he got the news about Thompson at the weekend.

“I just couldn’t believe it.”

Teleia Thompson has been remembered as "a super caring person with a big heart".

He said he remained in contact with some of her other family members, including her younger brother.

“He’s now lost his mum, his dad and now his older sister.”

He said she would be returned to Matatā this week for her tangi at Rangitihi Marae and would be buried next to her father.

Another post on social media said she would now be with her father.

“You’re with your daddy now girl, the day you’ve been waiting for. Sad it ended so soon and the way it did.”

Police told the Rotorua Daily Post they were unable to release any details about how the crash happened and whether anyone would be charged until after they had completed their investigation.

Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.