Teenager trapped in car beside dead stepfather

A badly injured teenager lay all night beside his dead stepfather after their four-wheel-drive careered off the road.

Police said Trevor Maurice Walmsley, 44, of Stratford, was killed instantly when he lost control of his car on a country road near Midhurst, Stratford, on Wednesday night.

The vehicle crashed through a fence and plunged 30m down a bank.

Mr Walmsley's 17-year-old stepson Michael Jane was found trapped in the vehicle by a farmer's wife the next morning.

He was taken to Taranaki Base Hospital with a broken leg, and facial injuries.

He underwent emergency surgery and was today reported to be stable.

- NZPA