Driver charged in wake of Piarere crash that killed American couple

Monday, 15 June 2026

A woman has been charged in the wake of a Piarere crash that killed two American tourists.

Amber Stephens, 34 and Joshua Greenway, 35, were killed in a two-vehicle crash on State Highway 1 at Piarere near Horahora Rd in October last year.

The pair were in New Zealand to attend a wedding.

A 31-year-old woman is charged with sell/give/supply methamphetamine and having a blood sample containing a listed qualifying drug over a high-risk level at the time of the crash.

She is due to appear in the Tokoroa District Court on Wednesday.

In a statement to the Waikato Times, Sergeant Shane McNally said the investigation remains ongoing and “cannot rule out further charges”.

Stephens and Greenway were remembered by friends as “angels on earth”.

Greenway was a stand-up comic and improv performer from Phoenix, Arizona and a mainstay of that city’s comedy scene, friends previously told the Waikato Times.

He was a fan of role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons and also hosted a podcast with friends.

Kayla Howard and her sister Jetuan Whedon knew Greenway from their time on the stand-up scene in Phoenix.

Some of his jokes were dark but “clever and well thought out,” Whedon said.

Whedon recalled plans to hang out with mutual friends when she got the news about the couple’s death, leaving her crying outside a theatre in the middle of Phoenix.

“I’ve been replaying his jokes in my head since he passed because he was just really clever,” Howard said.

'He was an amazing comedian and an amazing person, which sometimes it's hard to find both of those in one.“

Andre Bryant, 50, knew Greenway for two years and the pair had produced stand-up shows together.

Bryant told the Waikato Times that Greenway encouraged him to get into Dungeons and Dragons, through which he got to meet “these new awesome people and brilliant and talented, intelligent individuals”.

He also put together a tribute show for the couple, which he said was very much needed, especially for Greenway’s mother and grandmother - giving them a chance to laugh.

Bryant said the couple were “angels here on earth” and are now “angels in heaven.”

“We're only on this planet for a blip anyway, but I feel like my blip with Josh was cut short. I wish I had a longer blip with him.”

Police say they still want to hear from any witnesses or people who have dashcam footage and urge anyone with information to ring 105, quoting file number: 251016/7055.