Children injured in car crash on recovery path

Matt Ruddell and his two children, Faith, 3, and Phoenix, 4, returned to Tauranga Hospital last night after more than two weeks in Starship Hospital following the crash that killed their mother, Tracey O'Brien.

The two children seriously injured in a Te Puna crash that killed their mother arrived back in Tauranga last night.

Phoenix, 4, and Faith, 3, had been in Starship Hospital since the May 3 crash, in which their mother, Tracey O'Brien, died, but were transferred to Tauranga Hospital yesterday.

Father Matt Ruddell spoke to the Bay of Plenty Times from the ambulance soon after leaving Starship.

"There's a pretty good welcome party setting up for when they get back home, he said. We've got friends and family that want to see them that haven't seen them since they got to Auckland."

"The kids will enjoy seeing some friendly faces, I'm sure."

The Bay of Plenty Times arranged to visit the family on their arrival at Tauranga Hospital yesterday but the family later requested privacy.

Mr Ruddell expected the children would be out of hospital by the weekend although doctors would be keeping a close eye on Faith because of her brain injury and Phoenix would have to learn how to walk again when his cast came off.

"I'm super stoked with how they've taken it and how they are getting on."

"I'm pretty sure, given the chance, when Phee gets home hell figure out a way of getting around the house. I might have to hide the skateboards," he said.

Faith suffered a broken leg and bruising on her brain and Phoenix had a broken pelvis, two broken femurs and a fractured arm which left him in casts covering about 75 per cent of his body but the pair were expected to make full recoveries.

"They are gasbagging away looking at what's going on in the back of the ambulance," Mr Ruddell said above the sound of their excited chatter.

"Faith's improving everyday, getting louder and slightly more boisterous and bossing her brother around."

"It's been nice seeing her bounce back with her little cheeky grin coming back through. Phee [Phoenix] has been himself, just a little bit frustrated that he cant move but hes figuring out how to move himself and is being very independent. Its going to be nice to get back to home really. It'll be nice to actually sleep in my own bed instead of the hospital bed, he said."

He and the children would be living with his mother for a few months while the children recovered. Mr Ruddell also planned to return to his job as sous chef at The Phoenix two days a week from Monday. Mr Ruddell had still not told the children about their mothers death as they had not asked where she was, but he suspected they already knew.