A driver fleeing police has crashed into a home in Gisborne, injuring a woman who was sitting at a dinner table.
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A woman is on life support after being hit by a car while she was sitting at the table eating dinner in her kitchen.
Doctors are now trying to revive the critically injured transport engineer from an induced coma after a vehicle fleeing police ended up smashing through the walls of her Gisborne home last Wednesday.
The woman underwent four different operations and remains unconscious in Waikato Hospital’s intensive care unit.
“I just want her to talk,” her partner told pioneer.
“I haven’t been able to sleep since this happened.”
Shortly after the accident, the injured woman’s landlord called the unnamed man to tell him his partner was hospitalized.
“I drove from Hamilton to Gisborne. I drove to her that night.
“She was able to talk at that point. She told me she was having dinner and she was sitting on the other side of the table when the car crashed through the wall of the house.”
He said that while the woman had no external injuries, she suffered serious injuries to the inside of her abdomen.
“She experienced severe abdominal pain and vomited blood. Doctors at Gisborne Hospital admitted her after performing scans and examinations. They found her duodenum had ruptured.”
He said doctors at Waikato Hospital were optimistic about her recovery.
“They’re going to try to wake her up today, slowly disconnecting the machine. She’s still having trouble breathing on her own.”
The woman, who is originally from India, has no family in New Zealand and her partner is her only support.
“I don’t want to hide anything from them. Her family is in India. I know her mother very well. I told her everything.”
The man said he was angry and disturbed by the circumstances surrounding the horrific incident.
“Home is where you feel safe, not where your car hits a wall.
“I’m still mad about it.”
He said the woman’s overseas family relied on him for information.
“They were very upset, especially her mother. She was crying on the phone every day saying this shouldn’t have happened.”
GHD New Zealand Asia Pacific, the employer of the injured woman, said it was very saddened by the incident involving a worker in Gisborne last week.
“Our thoughts are communicated to everyone involved,” said executive general manager Van Tang.
“We are doing everything we can to ensure our colleagues and their families have the full support they need.”
A police spokesman said a car fled after seeing officers at 8.40pm on January 11.
Police followed the vehicle without activating the lights or siren.
“One person was injured when the car collided with a house on Tyndall Rd, Kaiti.
“The injured person, a resident of the house, was taken to Gisborne Hospital in a serious condition.”
The spokesman said the driver of the car, a 37-year-old Gisborne man, was not injured and was taken into custody at the scene.
He was charged with reckless driving, failing to stop for police and trespassing.
He appeared at Gisborne Magistrates Court on January 12 and is due to reappear on February 1.
* This story originally appeared on New Zealand Herald.
