CRASH SCENE: Otamarakau Valley Road, where an SUV collided with a woman pushing her two children in a stroller on Monday afternoon. Photo Louis Klaassen D4248-21
AN 11-month-old boy remains in critical condition at Starship Hospital after he was struck – along with his two-year-old sister and mother – by a vehicle on Otamarakau Valley Road on Monday afternoon.
His mother, 33, and sister were both in stable conditions yesterday afternoon at Tauranga and Waikato hospitals respectively.
The woman had been walking along Otamarakau Valley Road, pushing her children in a stroller, when the SUV towing a trailer veered off the road and hit them just before 2.30pm.
A farmer manager, who did not want to give his name, told the Beacon it was a sensitive time for the community.
He said two of his workers were off work yesterday dealing with the after effects of picking up one of the children off the road following the accident.
Pukehina Volunteer Fire Brigade chief officer Errol Watts said his crew was called at 2.30pm and was the first emergency service to arrive.
“When we arrived there were a few people there, there was a woman stretched out on the ground and a push chair that was smashed up.
“There was a group of people holding a couple of children.
The crew assessed the patients and because the children were not very responsive they worked on stabilising them and called rescue helicopters.
Mr Watts said the mother was conscious but seriously injured and couldn’t move.
St John Western Bay territory manager Ross Clarke said the mother was transported to Tauranga Hospital by ambulance and rescue helicopters from Tauranga and Rotorua transported the children.
The 11-month-old boy was initially flown to Tauranga Hospital then transported to Starship Hospital on Monday evening.
Mr Watts said the scene was “pretty chaotic”.
“When children are involved it changes things, particularly young children like that; you can’t ask what’s wrong with them. Everybody was quite concerned for the children.”
It is understood the woman, her children and the driver are from the Otamarakau area.
The driver of the SUV was not injured.
Police said yesterday fatigue might have been a contributing factor to the crash.
Investigations are continuing.