Inspector Dave Gaskin says staff who attended Saturday's crash near Timaru are doing alright, but "any death touches your soul in some way and takes something away".
"We will get by, but it is going to take a long time," he said of the local community.
Five boys aged 15 to 16 died when a Nissan Bluebird they were travelling in slammed into a power pole, ripping it in two.
Speed, alcohol and only a few wearing a seatbelt contributed to the high death toll. One of the victims was in the boot, while the driver is in hospital recovering.
Gaskin, the Aoraki area commander said the crash was a "disaster really waiting to happen".
"If you make a cake, you've got to have all of the ingredients. On this occassion, the accident was every ingredient you could possibly have to make a disaster," Gaskin said.
"Speed, alcohol, not wearing safety belts."
Nigel Bowen says "it's really hard to comprehend" five teen boys lost their lives over the weekend. (Source: Other)
Gaskin knows one of the families involved and, echoing his comments yesterday , said all of the families "woke up to a family's worst nightmare" after they were told.
Timaru Mayor Nigel Bowen also knows one of the affected families.
"It's going to have a huge impact and it's just hard to comprehend that this has happened in a small town like ours," he said.
"It’s really hard to comprehend. It’s less than 36 hours ago and it’s just such a tragedy. I just don’t recall in my lifetime when this has happened to such a scale and to take such young people from us."
He described the killed teens as "really good kids" who had their whole lives ahead of them.
"It’s not about blame," Bowen said.
"We race to anger, but it’s around what we as a community can do to support our young people and these families. We need to put our arms around them, so to speak, and really help."
Police are asking for anyone who may have seen the Nissan Bluebird on Saturday, with the registration UI17799, to contact them on 105.
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