Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today

Brave Invercargill boy's barefoot Forrest Gump-style dash to find help after Curio Bay car crash

By Laura Smith
Otago Daily Times·
20 Jan, 2021 04:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Invercargill mum Tamara Atley holding her son George Atley (5). Photo / ODT

Invercargill mum Tamara Atley holding her son George Atley (5). Photo / ODT

Barefoot and alone, an Invercargill 5-year-old ran more than a kilometre on a gravel road to find help when his family's car crashed in Curio Bay.

Last Saturday, George Atley made the decision to leave his sister Emelia, 3, and mother Tamara behind, unhurt but down a bank on a rural Southland road.

Ms Atley said the family had been on a trip to the Curio Bay beach, and decided to visit the nearby petrified forest.

However, after making a wrong turn, she attempted to turn around.

She thought her number was up, as she found herself trapped upside-down in the car which had slipped metres down a bank, flipping as it did so.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

In the gully they were in, trees pressed against the window.

George managed to free himself, helped his sister and exited the overturned car unscathed.

Emelia Atley, aged 3, was in a the family car when it crashed at Curio Bay. Photo / Supplied
Emelia Atley, aged 3, was in a the family car when it crashed at Curio Bay. Photo / Supplied

"I remember he told me, 'don't worry mummy, I'm going for help'."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He left his mum, unhurt, in the car, who had managed to turn around in the car to be on her hands and knees.

Somehow, the 5-year-old remembered the way back to where he could find help.

When he got to Tumu Toka Curioscape visitor centre car park, he yelled "help" loudly to a passing vehicle.

He learned what to do from watching survival videos on YouTube, he said.

"I think he just Forrest Gump'ed it down the road. He knew he had to run to one place, and that's what he did," his mother said.

What happened during that time was still unknown, as she still tried piecing it together from the little he had said since.

The Atley family car that crashed at Curio Bay. Photo / Supplied
The Atley family car that crashed at Curio Bay. Photo / Supplied

"The only person who knows what happened from the minute he left the car to the information centre, is George."

The incident lasted about an hour, and George's sister walked herself to a nearby church.
Ms Atley said she was not worried for focused George, but did for Emelia who had wandered off.

"I spent the whole time worrying about her. As you walk down the road, it's just a drop."

For Ms Atley, it was a tense wait with the strong smell of petrol and threat of the wrecked car dropping further down into the gully.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

However, after all had escaped from the car and regrouped, they found the only injury was a small scratch on George's elbow.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Hawkes Bay Today

Taradale scupper Pirates to continue club rugby reign

13 Jul 12:44 AM
Hawkes Bay Today

New Four Square and shops planned for Taradale town centre

12 Jul 06:00 PM
Hawkes Bay Today

‘Still there’: Removal of logging machine sent tumbling over cliff proving tricky

12 Jul 05:59 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Taradale scupper Pirates to continue club rugby reign

Taradale scupper Pirates to continue club rugby reign

13 Jul 12:44 AM

The Mighty Maroons send 'Red' off in style.

New Four Square and shops planned for Taradale town centre

New Four Square and shops planned for Taradale town centre

12 Jul 06:00 PM
‘Still there’: Removal of logging machine sent tumbling over cliff proving tricky

‘Still there’: Removal of logging machine sent tumbling over cliff proving tricky

12 Jul 05:59 PM
Landslide sparks evacuations, roads closed, homes flooded after storm

Landslide sparks evacuations, roads closed, homes flooded after storm

12 Jul 12:43 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP