A mother may not make it home for Christmas after a serious crash in northwest Auckland left her fighting for her life.
• Crash victim tells how love of family inspired fight for life • She was trapped in mangled wreckage with serious injuries • "There was a point where I did think, 'I can't do this'"
A mother of three says she is alive today thanks to her husband's voice telling her, "We need you", as she sat fighting for her life moments after a head-on collision in West Auckland.
And despite her being trapped in mangled wreckage with horrific injuries, her only thought was for the safety of her 2-year-old daughter in the back seat.
Pauline Bradley, 40, had to be cut from her black Mazda after it and a white Toyota Corolla collided, the force of which knocked the motor out of the oncoming car, sending it between 20m to 50m along the road.
Mrs Bradley was travelling north along State Highway 16 at Woodhill shortly before 8pm on Friday, with her daughter Aria, when the crash happened. The Toyota slid sideways into the northbound lane, smashing into Mrs Bradley's car.
In the 20 minutes it took for firefighters to free Mrs Bradley from her vehicle, her husband, Justin, was by her side encouraging her to live.
"There was a point where I did think, 'I can't do this', and when he said to me, 'You have to be here for us', then that was like, 'OK, no OK, I can do this, I can do this, I know it hurts but I know I can do it', Mrs Bradley told the Herald last night from her hospital bed.
"There were definitely moments when I was starting to feel like I had to give up because ... you feel the pain and breathing was so difficult and people were trying to talk to me and try and keep me coherent.
"All I knew was Aria was safe. As soon as she was safe I was like, 'OK, I can kind of give up a bit here', but then as soon as [Justin] said, 'We need you', it was like, 'I have to just keep breathing'."
'All I was worried about was my daughter'
Mrs Bradley, who provides therapy for disabled children by using horses, had a severely broken left arm, internal abdominal injuries and internal bleeding, a shattered left ankle, torn ligaments and a broken pelvis. But her only concern was for Aria. "All I could remember was going, 'No, please no', because my daughter was in the back seat and in my mind, I thought that was it, I wasn't going to survive it. All I was worried about was my daughter."
It was Pauline Bradley's love for her family - husband Justin and daughters Alicia, 11, Sienna, 10, and Aria, 2 - that spurred her to fight on. Photo / Supplied
Aria escaped the crash with a black eye and some bruising but was otherwise unharmed. She did, however, suffer emotional trauma and did not approach her mother in hospital for two days after the accident.
"I couldn't move because I was trapped in the vehicle, I couldn't get to her, the car was smoking at the time and by the time the people coming down the road stopped to help me, the first thing I asked was for them to get her out," Mrs Bradley said.
"So for her, I don't know how she is feeling - but mummy is her protector - and then somehow I can't get to her when she is in serious need of somebody and then to get pulled out and taken away from me ... It has been really hard to watch her in the past few days not wanting to come to me."
Mrs Bradley was airlifted to Auckland City Hospital, then transferred to North Shore Hospital on Saturday.
She said the worst part of the crash was "seeing that car coming at me", and her concern for Aria.
"All I do is close my eyes and see it over and over again. The fact there was nothing I could do, there was nowhere I could go, and the pain."
Driver didn't stop
Police are still investigating what caused the oncoming vehicle to cross the centreline into the path of Mrs Bradley's car, but believe a white ute behind the Toyota may have rear-ended it into the Mazda's path.
The ute driver didn't stop at the scene, causing extreme anguish for Mrs Bradley and her family.
"Those minutes could have really counted for me and, regardless of whether he did wrong or right, he should have at least stopped. Even if he just did a call to the police or somebody who could get me help." Mrs Bradley now faces 12 weeks in hospital, but said she was just grateful she would eventually be going home to "watch my daughters grow up".
The wrecked car that hurtled up to 50 metres along the highway after colliding with another vehicle. Photo / Supplied
"People have said to me, 'You have had a bad day', and it is like, 'No, I have had a good day because I am still here and I am alive'. I am in pain and this is going to take time to heal but I am here and ... I am thankful for that. It is like a second chance."
Anyone who saw a white ute in the Helensville/SH16 area around 7.50pm on Friday, or who witnessed the events leading up to or the actual collision, is asked to contact Senior Constable Paul Hayward on (09) 481-0773.
