Old train a risk – victim
A Christchurch man whose toes were ‘‘chopped’’ off by a rusty train on a remote beach is calling for authorities to take action so no-one else gets hurt.
KiwiRail says it is not responsible for the accident that caused Shane Colombus to lose two toes on his right foot two years ago, but the 29-year-old is concerned no-one has done anything to prevent the same thing happening to someone else.
Colombus had been staying at a family friend’s bach in Oaro, south of Kaikōura, on his 27th birthday in October 2016.
He and a friend were walking on the beach when he put his hand out to steady himself on an old train, which forms part of a seawall, as he walked over some boulders. Colombus said part of the train then fell on him, trapping him underneath.
‘‘It basically just collapsed and fell on me. I just managed to push it off my chest and pull my leg out but my right foot got trapped and it chopped my toes off,’’ he said.
While his friend rushed to get help, he managed to free his foot from the rusty metal and started crawling back to the road. He eventually got to the road and was taken to Kaikō ura Hospital by ambulance, then flown to Christchurch Hospital.
He was in a coma for a day, and had three surgeries to repair his damaged ligaments, tendons and blood vessels and to insert three metal rods into his toes. He spent a month in intensive care and was bed-bound for 14 months. A bone infection added to his recovery time, and he had to have another toe amputated. He has been left with three toes on his right foot, minimal feeling, numbness, and significant scarring.
‘‘I feel cheated out of my last two years. I lost my job, I’ve missed out on working my way up through positions [with my employer] and had to learn to walk again. My life is on pause and I’m 29.’’
Colombus said he was highly active before the accident and had worked as a free-diver before joining Fulton Hogan as a heavy plant operator. The accident delayed him getting work-related driving licences as he needed two good feet, he said.
The incident had also taken a toll on his mental health, and he was concerned nothing had been done to protect others from suffering the same way he had.
KiwiRail acting chief operations officer Henare Clarke said the accident was regrettable, but it was not caused by ‘‘any failure by KiwiRail’’.
‘‘Access to the rail corridor is restricted, and Mr Colombus would have required specific permission to have entered it.’’
Clarke said Colombus would have passed a locked gate that had signs on it warning against entering KiwiRail land.
‘‘The fact that the train was in poor condition would have been apparent from a visual inspection.
‘‘In our view, the decision to climb on it was unwise and the result was foreseeable by a reasonable person.’’
Colombus said he was not aware of any signs and had not climbed over a locked gate.
The public could access the area, so the train remained a risk, he said.
‘‘The rusty train needs to be removed, or at least fenced off. I’ve seen kids play there over the years and I would hate something like this to happen to anyone else.’’