Teen impaled in freak accident improving

The 14-year-old was airlifted by Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter to Starship hospital in a critical condition after the accident.

The condition of a 14-year-old boy impaled through the head with a metal stake in a freak accident this week is improving.

He was struck by the metal real estate agent's stake when a game of "chicken" with his friends went wrong in the southeastern Auckland suburb of Beachlands on Monday. He was conscious and talking despite the appalling injury.

The stake had been left out after an open home, and the boys were throwing it into the air and trying to dodge it. But it struck the boy in the head and penetrated the length of a ballpoint pen.

He was airlifted by Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter to Starship hospital in a critical condition, and was understood to have been placed in an induced coma.

The teen was with friends including his longtime best mate at the time.

His best friend lay on the ground with him, cradling the victim's head on his own broken collarbone and holding the stake still as firefighters used specialist cutting equipment to remove part of it.

The mother of the best friend, whom the Herald has decided not to name, said she was told today that the victim's condition was improving.

"It's my understanding that he's going to be okay, they told me that it was okay to think positively."

She said her own son was struggling to cope with the dramatic situation, and was "going through a lot".

The incident unfolded about 4.45pm on Monday, when the boys were playing with the stake at Sunkist Bay Reserve.

The victim's mother, who the Herald also decided not to name, said her son was sitting and using his phone when the stake struck him.

Chief Fire Officer at the Beachlands Station Shane Rutherford said he had never seen anything like the accident in his 22 years of firefighting.

"He was very lucky to still be alive; he had somebody watching over him."