The 61-year-old man charged in relation to the incident also faces a charge of being an unlicensed driver who was driving while forbidden to do so.
His name was suppressed by the presiding Justice of the Peace.
He was remanded in custody and duty solicitor Anna Brosnahan said he would be applying for bail on Tuesday.
Mr Minnell's mother and father were both with him at Wellington Hospital yesterday, a friend of the mother said. Speaking at Mrs Minnell's home, the man said the parents had been joined by eight or nine of Mr Minnell's friends.
The man, who did not want to be named, said Mr Minnell was living and working in Palmerston North, and had returned to Whanganui at the weekend to see his mother, and gone out for a drink with friends.