Family praises first responders to Taihape crash that left man with spinal injuries

The family of a man who was seriously injured in a crash on SH1 are praising the first-responders to the scene.

The sister of a man recovering with serious spinal injuries at Christchurch Hospital says their family is “incredibly grateful” for the first responders to a Taihape crash.

The single-vehicle crash happened on State Highway 1 at Taihape, near Spooners Hill Rd, at 4.40pm on Monday.

The seriously injured man, Ben, and his girlfriend Nieve were in the vehicle as well as their two dogs.

“Our family is incredibly, incredibly grateful for both the emergency services and those people on the scene before they got there,” the sister said.

“Without those people, the outcome could have been completely different.”

Their family is based in New Plymouth but Ben lives in Wellington.

He was airlifted to Christchurch Hospital’s intensive care unit following the crash.

Ben had undergone spinal surgery and would be transferred to the Burwood Spinal Unit in Christchurch to undergo further treatment, his sister said. The full extent of damage to his spinal cord was not yet clear.

“He has got no feeling in his limbs, so he’s been in surgery to take off the pressure and realign his back, but he’s still got limited feeling.”

Nieve, who was taken by ambulance to Palmerston North Hospital, had only cuts and scrapes. She had since been flown to Christchurch to be with Ben.

She said Ben was “in good spirits, making jokes and was just so grateful for all the support too”.

The two dogs were unharmed in the crash.

“They were totally unscathed which is incredible, really. They were harnessed into the car, and that was I think both Ben and Nieve’s biggest stress: they were worried about their babies,” the sister said.

The air ambulance staff and Christchurch emergency department had worked quickly to get Ben safely to help, the sister said.

“I can speak for our entire family in saying that everyone is just so, so grateful.”

She said Ben’s journey to recovery would be long but the support they had already received from the community was overwhelming.

Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.