SKATEBOARDER MARRIES BEFORE PASSING AWAY

A PIMPAMA father married his partner from his hospital bed two weeks before he died from serious head injuries sustained in a freak skateboarding accident.

Charles Tamahae Ngaheu, a 40-year-old father-oftwo, had been on life support at the Gold Coast University Hospital since falling off his skateboard at Mercer St in Pimpama on September 22.

The New Zealander died last Saturday after sustaining “irreversible” brain damage.

The accident occurred just two streets away from the northern Gold Coast home Mr Ngaheu bought with his partner, Tracey Hanlen, in January. There were no other vehicles involved.

On October 17, Ms Hanlen posted a picture to Facebook showing the pair’s hands intertwined wearing rings.

Dozens of comments from friends and family were left below the photograph, congratulating the pair and telling them to “be strong”.

Others made heartbreaking pleas to the man known as “Charlie” or “Chaz” to “wake up”.

The local New Zealand community rallied around the family in the weeks leading up to Mr Ngaheu’s death. Almost $5,000 was donated to a charity page to support Ms Hanlen and the pair’s two children.

Heartbreakingly, about a week before Mr Ngaheu’s death, she wrote a message to the donors saying the father of her children had suffered “catastrophic” injuries but she still held out hope he would recover.

Attempts were made to contact Mr Ngaheu’s family for this story.