Survivor joins seatbelt campaign
Liam Bethell remembers nothing from the crash that nearly cost him his life but he credits his seatbelt for saving him.
The Waikato dad’s car was T-boned by a truck at the intersection of State Highway 2, and Maxwell Rd, in August 2017.
It was 200 metres from his Maramarua home, near the Firth of Thames.
He broke most of his ribs, broke three discs in his back and had a brain bleed that put him in a coma for 10 days.
He woke up the day before his and his wife’s third child, daughter Dakota-reign, was born.
‘‘I was wearing my seatbelt and that is the main reason I survived,’’ Bethell said.
Bethell, 29, is one of 10 crash survivors to become the face of New Zealand Transport Agency’s latest seatbelt campaign.
Every year, about 90 Kiwis die in motor-vehicle crashes where they weren’t wearing a seatbelt.
The campaign started with a public call to find real Kiwi men to share their stories of survival.
Hundreds responded to the call and 10 were chosen to have their real injuries recreated and their stories shared.
Bethell wanted to join the campaign because he believed the attitude of young Kiwi males was too relaxed around seatbelt use.
‘‘A lot of young farmers don’t wear their belts on the farm and the reality is that they don’t think about it. They jump in their truck and head off down the road.
‘‘If I can alter one person’s decision and make them wear their seatbelt, then that may be the difference between them being able to hold their family – or their family being at their funeral mourning their loss.’’
Emergency medicine specialist Dr Natasha Mckay said the campaign was really powerful because it featured all true stories. ‘‘We aren’t making up stories and trying to get them to fit what we want,’’ she said.
Mckay said young males from a rural area were the demographic most likely to not wear their seatbelt. ‘‘People who are unrestrained tend to be ejected from their vehicle and the chance of dying is significantly higher.
‘‘A lot of those people don’t even make it to hospital.’’
Bethell’s brain injury means he has no memory from 31⁄2 weeks before the crash and about eight months after. But his body received a painful reminder of the lifesaving force of his seatbelt.
‘‘I tore my right rotator cuff from the impact of the seatbelt.
‘‘That’s how much they keep you in your seat.’’
For the campaign, the survivors provided personal photos taken in the days after their crashes, to ensure their injuries were recreated as accurately as possible.
A special effects make-up team also worked closely with Mckay.
‘‘A seatbelt really does leave a mark like this,’’ Mckay said.
‘‘They will save your life but they will leave a mark to show how they’ve done it.’’
Bethell said he spent months re-learning how to walk and how to talk at a rehab facility.
‘‘When I first came off life support, I didn’t know who my kids were or that my wife was my wife. I just knew she was important to me. I’ve come a long way and it’s almost a miracle. ‘‘I’m now driving again. ‘‘The severity of my injuries that I still face now ... it sucks; but I’m grateful because I’m still alive.’’