Woman seriously injured by falling tree airlifted to Whanganui Hospital

An 11-year-old boy had to drive a quad bike to get help after his mother was seriously injured by a falling tree in the Turakina Valley.

A woman in her 40s was hit by a falling tree as she and her son were riding an ATV between farms on Monday, January 6.

The woman wasn't able to avoid hitting the tree and fell from her quad bike, landing under the tree and seriously injuring herself, a Palmerston North Rescue Helicopter spokesperson said.

The woman's 11-year-old son received minor injuries and was able to drive the quad bike to the farmhouse to get his father.

The Palmerston North Rescue Helicopter was dispatched to Turakina Valley at 3pm on Monday.

The woman was stabilised at the scene before being flown to Whanganui Hospital for further treatment. A Whanganui District Health Board spokeswoman said on Wednesday the woman was in a stable condition in the surgical ward at Whanganui Hospital.

It was the second accident in the region on Monday, January 6, involving a quad bike.

A person was killed in a quad bike accident in Ohakune on Monday morning. Police were alerted to the crash on Kopurutuku Rd where it appeared a person had fallen off a four-wheeler.

Rescue helicopters have been kept busy around the region over the holiday season.

On Sunday afternoon the Palmerston North Rescue Helicopter crew flew to Raetihi where a 20-year-old man had received multiple rib fractures while playing rugby in the backyard with his mates. He was treated at the scene before being flown to Whanganui Hospital.

The crew was also called to Raetihi on Saturday, January 4. A man in his 60s suffering from severe chest and back pain was stabilised by the on-board intensive care paramedic and flown to Whanganui Hospital for treatment.

On December 23 the TECT Rescue Helicopter, based in Tauranga, flew to Taihape where a 10-year-old girl had suffered a serious medical event that required immediate hospital care. The helicopter met an ambulance at the Taihape airfield and took the girl to Whanganui Hospital for assessment and treatment.