Those close to 'Boy' star James Rolleston 'waiting with bated breath'

'Boy' actor James Rolleston is recovering in Waikato's intensive care unit with those close to the star unsure how long it will be before he's better. Photo/ file

Injured Boy actor James Rolleston remains stable in Waikato's intensive care unit with those close to the star still unsure how long it will taker him to recover.

Rolleston, 19, was in a car near Opotiki, where he is from, when it hit Otara Bridge on the eastern side of the Bay of Plenty town at about 10.30pm on Tuesday.

He was cut from his car and taken to Tauranga Hospital in a serious condition before being transferred to the intensive care unit at Waikato Hospital where he remains in a stable condition.

Police investigations into the cause of the crash were ongoing, a police spokeswoman said.

Opotiki councillor Barry Howe, whose grandsons were friends with Rolleston and another young man injured in the crash, said people close to the actor were "waiting with bated breath" to see how he recovered.

"It's just time now," he told the Herald when asked what Rolleston's recovery was looking like.

"His family are up with him in Hamilton because he's in critical care. He's not out of critical yet."

Two of Howe's grandsons had been to visit the young star in hospital to offer their support.

"They're pretty shocked about it, [it's hard] when one of your best mates is in a massive accident like that.

"He's a really popular kid in Opotiki, he's got so many mates."

The other boy, who was part of the same friend group, was also hurt in the crash but was "not as badly injured as James," Howe said.

"He's pretty sore, he's still in hospital at the moment but he's on the road to recovery. So that's a blessing in disguise."

Howe said he was not sure at this stage which of the boys had been driving the car when it crashed.

He described Rolleston and the other boy as being "best of buddies."

On Facebook, messages of support for Rolleston flowed, with his haka group posting a live streamed waiata from Taiwan, where they were performing for a cultural festival.

"This is for a very special person, number two for today, it's for our boy James rolleston," the video began, before a group of people waving and wishing Rolleston well broke into a five-minute-long song for him.

On Thursday, Rolleston's family thanked everyone for their concern through Bay of Plenty District Health Board spokeswoman Diana Marriot.

"The family would like to thank all the well wishers who have sent so many messages of love and support, they are finding this a huge comfort at this time," said Marriot.

Rolleston's breakout performance in Taika Waititi's 2010 movie Boy kicked off his career as an actor.

He also appeared alongside Cliff Curtis in the widely-acclaimed 2014 movie The Dark Horse.