“Her brain is okay, but everything else is pretty messed up.”
Her injuries include her pelvis being “split in half”, all the skin and muscle being torn off her left arm, two spinal fractures, at least two skull fractures, fractures in both wrists and ankles and several broken ribs.
“She’s in a heck of a lot of pain, but she’s alive.”
She was able to speak briefly with her sister, who told her she felt at least three of a truck’s six wheels roll on top of her.
She said she had been trapped for about ten minutes before firefighters were able to free her.
The teen was on her way to the second day of work as an engineering apprentice. Her sister said she had worked hard in order to graduate early in order to do the course.
As she spoke to the Herald, her sister was being wheeled into her first of many surgeries. This one was to stabilise her pelvis.
Her sister is the youngest of seven children and adored by her elder siblings who were all distraught after the incident.
“Every time the doctor comes in and gives us more information, I feel like I am about to faint.”
A police spokesperson said they were called to the intersection of Mill and Ulster Sts, Whitiora, at 5.55am.
The spokesperson said the cyclist was reportedly in serious condition.
The serious crash team had been notified with an investigation set to commence into the cause of the accident.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand northern shift manager Paul Radden said two crews from Hamilton and one from Chartwell were called to the scene.
He said firefighters extracted the cyclist from underneath the vehicle before they left the scene for police.
A spokesperson for St John said they sent one ambulance and two rapid response vehicles to the scene and transported the teen to hospital in serious condition.
Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.
