Gloriavale crash: senior leader remains in hospital with punctured lung, internal injuries

The Gloriavale Christian Community. Photo / George Heard

A senior leader of the Gloriavale Christian community seriously injured in a crash at the weekend suffered a punctured lung and other internal injures.

It was also feared Peter Righteous had serious spinal injuries but it now appears he has escaped such damage.

Righteous was a passenger in a car that crashed into a creek on the West Coast on Saturday afternoon.

He and several other Gloriavale residents had attended an annual fundraiser for Multiple Sclerosis New Zealand and were returning to the isolated religious community when the crash happened at 3.30pm on Nelson Creek-Bell Hill Rd.

Peter Righteous (left) during a visit to Gloriavale by Employment Court Chief Judge Christina Inglis. Photo / Anna Leask

The driver and another passenger were taken to hospital.

A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesperson said when crews found the car crashed in the creek, the passengers and driver had already made their way out of the vehicle.

It is understood police are investigating the cause of the crash.

Righteous is understood to be in a stable condition.

His role at Gloriavale is one of “servant” alongside Mark Christian, Maranatha Stedfast, Joshua Disciple and Michael Hope.

Servants sit beneath the overseeing “shepherd” - Howard Temple and other shepherds Noah Hopeful, Samuel Valor and Stephen Standfast.

Temple, 83, is currently before the courts on a raft of sex charges.

He is accused of indecently assaulting 10 girls across more than 20 years.

Court documents revealed Temple - who initially had name suppression and could not be identified publicly - of 24 charges of indecent assault involving 10 female complainants who were aged between 9 and 20 at the time.