Girl struck by ute is on the mend

When Casey Bush saw her daughter lying motionless on the road after being hit by a ute, she thought she was dead.

But now, the 6-year-old is slowly recovering from the ordeal.

Jodeci Day remains in Palmerston North Hospital and has undergone surgery to remove 15 centimetres of her bowel.

Jodeci was struck by the ute, which was towing a trailer, as she was walking home from school on Highbury Ave, Palmerston North, about 3.15pm on August 7. She was crossing the road when she was struck.

Bush said she was walking to meet her children on their way home from school when she saw a police car and fire truck race past.

She asked a passing child what happened and was told her daughter had been run over.

Running towards the scene, she saw Jodeci lying under a trailer.

‘‘My automatic thought was ‘she was gone’.’’

Jodeci was taken to Palmerston North Hospital and Bush said they discovered she had no broken bones and a CT scan was clear.

However, the next day her temperature went up and she started vomiting.

‘‘She went straight into surgery within 25 minutes.’’

Her bowel was punctured in three places, which doctors were not initially aware of, so Bush said they removed 15cm from it and also removed her appendix.

‘‘If they didn’t catch it when they did she would be really, really sick.’’

Jodeci is still in hospital and

‘‘My automatic thought was ‘she was gone’.’’ Casey Bush