Rotorua’s Sian Habgood’s life after being hit by car in Urban Bistro restaurant

When Rotorua’s Sian Habgood has a rare opportunity to go out for a meal with her husband, she carefully picks where they sit.

Tables by windows are out and she always needs to sit somewhere she can easily see what’s going on.

She’s not a fussy customer. She’s just wary after a freak accident in March where she was hit by an out-of-control car while having dinner inside Rotorua’s award-winning Urbano Bistro restaurant.

It was a miracle she survived. When she saw the car hurtling towards her, she tried to get up and run. It smashed through the glass doors and collected her from behind, throwing her 7m across the room and against a wall.

She suffered broken bones and serious injuries all over her body.

Sian Hapgood looks forward to the day she can run around and play with her children again, including daughter, Aria, 6. Photo / Kelly Makiha

Today, she still cannot run, often walks with a limp and is physically struggling to return to fulltime work.

For her family, 2024 has not been a great year. But she knows she’s lucky to be alive.

No one was charged following the crash on March 15 as police said the driver had suffered a medical event, causing him to lose control.

Habgood’s recovery has been long and slow. She went from being a busy working mother of three children under 12 – including a high-needs autistic son aged 7 – to being unable to do anything for herself.

The crash impacted her entire body. She had a broken pelvis, lacerated spleen, broken knee, broken finger and torn ankle ligaments.

The scene after a car crashed into Urbano restaurant on the corner of Fenton and Grey streets. Photo / Andrew Warner

Her legs and back were also covered in deep bruises, she had a nasty head cut and was peppered in cuts and broken glass.

Her little finger was the most serious of the breaks and needed surgery. The recovery meant it was taped to her ring finger, but she said that caused her middle finger to “carry the load” too much and she ended up getting “trigger finger”, an overuse injury to the ligaments and tendons.

Sian and Jethro Habgood in March, not long after the freak accident that nearly took her life. Photo / Andrew Warner

Before the accident, Habgood ran a side hustle business called Riri’s Room, making and selling children’s clothes online. She said she was still doing a bit of it now, but it was difficult for her for a long time to hold scissors with her broken little finger.

Despite the incident happening months ago, Habgood confessed she was still in a lot of pain. The biggest burden was not being able to run after her children.

She said when caring for her autistic son, she needed to be able to catch him in case he ran off. It meant school holidays were “boring” for her three children as they weren’t able to go to the park in case he bolted.

“My knee is giving me the most trouble ... doctors said it could be up to 18 months before it’s better.”

The car that crashed through Urbano Bistro restaurant in March.

She worked one day a week in her job at Mountain Bike Rotorua, where she was working fulltime in the weeks before the accident. But as a casual employee, she was not entitled to ACC income compensation.

She said her husband, Jethro, who manages Taupō‘s Plumbing World, had been a huge supporter but living on a reduced income was difficult.

“It definitely has had hard moments, our house needs lots of renovations and a lot of it we were planning to do before winter this year and we weren’t able to do it, not just with money but with me being injured and Jethro working and sorting the kids and looking after me, we just didn’t have time.”

She said like a lot of people now, they were watching their spending.

“We had hoped to be able to take the kids on an overseas trip next year but that most likely won’t happen for another year or two now. Along with the extra little things now that my physio at the hospital has finished, we’re having to pay for things like aqua classes and pilates that ACC doesn’t cover as well as steroid injections in my hand that’s only partly covered by ACC.”

But the optimist was not dwelling on what she cannot achieve.

“At the end of the day though, we’ll get through this, we’re lucky enough to have what we do as it’s more than some people, and to still have our family whole this Christmas, especially with the amount of deaths recently on our roads.”

Urbano Bistro owners Mark and Jane Solon had to close their business for five weeks while the damage was repaired but they reopened towards the end of April. Photo / Andrew Warner

Urbano Bistro was closed for five weeks while the damage was repaired but owners Mark and Jane Solon were thrilled they were able to save their restaurant, especially since they had not long bought it from long-time founding owners Richard and Julie Sewell.

Habgood said she plucked up the courage to go back to the restaurant with her husband about three months after the accident and the owners recognised her and insisted they have a free meal.

“All the window seats were taken but I wouldn’t have sat there anyway. It was good to go back but I spent the whole time looking at the windows.”

As the months ticked by and her body and emotions started to heal, Habgood said the sooner 2024 was over, the better.

“I’m still happy to be alive ... It’s definitely been a tough year for us. It’s been a nothing year.

“I’m at home but I’m not doing anything because I can’t do anything. I’ve had to learn to relax being still, not relax while doing something.”

Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.