By MONIQUE DEVEREUX
Unaware she was allergic to bees, Elaine Teddy ran through a swarm to help a man injured in a road smash between a car and a truck carrying beehives.
But her good deed proved fatal.
She was stung several times. As her body swelled up from an allergic reaction, she had trouble breathing and eventually lost consciousness.
Five hours later, she died in Whakatane Hospital.
Mrs Teddy and her husband, Herbie, were helping people injured in the smash.
The accident happened on a State Highway 35 blackspot metres from the couple's Te Kaha home late on Thursday.
Mr Teddy, the town's fire chief, reported the crash and headed to the fire station to get rescue gear.
His wife went straight to the crash site to help the injured.
The beehives the light truck was carrying had toppled from the truck, and the bees were swarming around.
Half an hour later, Mrs Teddy was sharing an ambulance with the driver of the car involved in the collision.
Mrs Teddy's condition deteriorated during the 90-minute trip to Whakatane.
She died early yesterday.
At the family home yesterday, Megan Teddy described her mother as "the backbone of this family."
"She kept the family in line, but she was always ready to help us. That's what she was doing when this happened.
"She was out there helping someone else."
Elaine Teddy's seven children, 21 grandchildren, and brothers and sisters are travelling from Australia, England and around New Zealand for her funeral on Monday.
Megan said the tangi would be huge, with most of Te Kaha coming, "and everywhere else around here."
"Most people knew Mum. She will be missed by more people than just us, I reckon."
Dr Vincent Crump, an Auckland allergy specialist, said that while it was not unusual for people to be allergic to bees, fatalities were rare.
He said people who knew they were allergic should carry adrenalin and be able to inject themselves if they were stung.
Dr Crump said if someone suffered an allergic reaction after one sting, the reaction might be worse the next time he or she was stung.
Bee stings prove fatal for mother of seven
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