Couple united by their scars

Gaz Brown and Lucia Tigri were both injured in the December 27 crash and have had to postpone their wedding. Photo / Herald on Sunday

They may not be able to exchange wedding rings, but a couple who survived a four-car smash will be united forever by matching scars.

Gaz Brown, 31, and his fiancee, Lucia Tigri, 33, were due to get married next Saturday but have had to put their plans on hold after being seriously injured in the crash near Napier on December 27.

The Auckland couple had been to Napier with Mr Brown's parents and sister to visit family friends and had just left when the crash happened on State Highway 2.

"I was in the back, diagonal to the crash, so I could see a lot of what was going on," Mr Brown said. "I've got a really clear, vivid picture of it. It all just moved in such slow motion.

"We were coming up around a bend and there was a silver car in front of us. Coming towards us was a white car and a double-axle truck behind that.

"As we came around the corner, the white car started to cross the white line. It nipped the grey car and put it into a spin.

"It took the whole front off the grey car and the motor got thrown across the road.

"The truck locked on its brakes and the trailer started swinging and skidding around. [The car] just started coming for us. We had no way out, we just had to take it."

Mr Brown tried to move in front of Ms Tigri, who was sitting in the middle, to shield her from the impact.

"I had my arm in front of her, I was exposing myself to take a lot of the brunt of the force. Then we just came to a halt ... I heard the girls screaming. I started getting out of the car to help everybody, but I collapsed on the ground."

Mr Brown was airlifted to hospital and the rest of his family, as well as seven others from the other vehicles, were taken in ambulances.

It is understood the other victims have all been discharged from hospital. Police are still investigating the cause of the crash.

Mr Brown, who owns the Get Running marathon training company and coaches broadcaster Kerre Woodham, suffered a damaged bowel, lacerated lung, a nick to his kidney, fractured sternum and rib and a displaced collarbone, which will be operated on today.

Ms Tigri, fashion editor of the New Zealand Woman's Weekly, also suffered a damaged bowel and vertebrae.

Her head and neck are in traction and she was transferred to Auckland yesterday so specialists could have a closer look at the damage and decide whether she needs further surgery.

Mr Brown's mother, Judy, who was driving, suffered the same injury to her bowel. All three underwent the same surgery and have the same scar.

"The surgeons operated on us one after the other," Mr Brown said. "I had double bowel surgery that took over three hours."

Mrs Brown was discharged from hospital earlier in the week and is still in a wheelchair but otherwise okay.

Mr Brown and Ms Tigri spent almost a week in intensive care.

"She's dealing with it, the strongest girl in the world, and I'm proud to be marrying her," he wrote to friends in an update about their conditions on Facebook.

"We've got matching scars on our stomachs - there is no way this marriage will break up," he said yesterday.

Mr Brown said the wedding was postponed until they had recovered, which will be three months or more - depending on how long Ms Tigri is in traction.

As a tribute to the couple's "paused" wedding, Kerre Woodham has helped to organise a 5km Bride 'n' Groom run, which will be held on Saturday instead of their ceremony. Woodham, who was to be the MC at the wedding, said participants could dress up as brides or grooms and win spot prizes.

"When we went down and saw Gaz we felt so helpless. We wanted to do something that would show our support and something tangible," she said.

"They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. They did nothing wrong. It was just a big stroke of nastiness."

Mr Brown said he was "blown away" by the generosity and support from friends and family.

"This has definitely been an experience, put it that way. It's one of those things where you really do stop, sit back and appreciate everything that you've got and not to take it too lightly.

"We are incredibly lucky. It's just so overwhelming that everything came into line and we're still here."

Ms Tigri is also counting her blessings. "So happy to be alive," she wrote in a message to friends.

"Always wear your seatbelt. It's the only reason we are alive.

anna.leask@nzherald.co.nz