Remorseful crash driver devastated

A German man who pulled into the path of a truck, killing his best friend, wishes he had died instead.

But Felix Eisele, 19, realises he can’t turn back time and must live with the death of his travelling companion, Melanie Dangel.

The German man made the comments in a letter to Judge Glen Marshall, which was read during his sentencing in Thames District Court on Monday.

The 19-year-old was sentenced to pay $5000 to the family of the victim and disqualified from driving for a year and six months. He earlier pleaded guilty to careless use of a motor vehicle causing death.

Dangel died of injuries sustained in the crash, in which Eisele pulled into the path of a truck on State Highway 25 at Kopu on November 24 last year.

Dangel and Eisele were best friends and had travelled to New Zealand on holiday.

The court heard how the 19-yearold obtained his licence in Germany in early 2017 and had limited driving experience.

The pair arrived in New Zealand on September 26 and travelled the country, visiting both the South and North Islands.

‘‘He said it was a happy time for them both,’’ Eisele’s lawyer Simon Lance told the court.

The pair hired a rental car a week before the crash and left Hamilton around 10am on November 24 headed for Hot Water Beach in the Coromandel.

They headed north along Hauraki Rd and, at the intersection with SH25, Eisele came to a stop.

At the same time, a truck-andtrailer unit was headed west on SH25, going 80kmh in the 100kmh zone.

As the truck neared the intersection, Eisele pulled out into its path.

Firefighters had to cut the Eisele and Dangel from the mangled silver Nissan sedan.

They were flown to Auckland City Hospital in separate rescue helicopters.

Dangel suffered serious head injuries and was in a critical con- dition. She died in Friday, December 1.

Lance said his client had been traumatised by the experience and had spent the days following the crash at Dangel’s bedside, reading her books. Eisele suffered a head injury, punctured lungs and spleen damage. Lance argued that the degree of carelessness in the crash was at the lower end of the scale, given Eisele’s age, lack of previous convictions and circumstances on the day.

‘‘It has very much affected him and he is extremely sorry for what’s happened.’’

He had also been surprised at the forgiveness shown in a note Dangel’s mother left him when she flew out to New Zealand in the wake of the accident.

‘‘Eisele had expected the worst from her and was surprised and grateful for the forgiveness and understanding she showed.’’

Eisele was not working and had ‘‘limited means’’ to pay reparation, having borrowed money from his grandmother, but he was intent on getting a job upon his return to Germany, Lance said.

‘‘He’s just left school and is planning to return to university to study medical research. He intends now to get work and before he resumes his studies to generate income to repay debt.’’

Lance said his client also wanted to participate in restorative justice with Dangel’s family upon his return and would be taking driving lessons.

In sentencing, Judge Marshall accepted Eisele’s remorse and guilt over the consequences, noting that although he had no memory of the crash, he accepted responsibility at the earliest possibility.

‘‘You accept it was your fault and the truck driver is not to blame, to your credit. You wish it had been you who died and not the victim and accept you can’t turn back time.

‘‘I accept you will live with this for the rest of your life, and you have enough insight and thoughtfulness to realise that the victim’s family are in a similar position and will live with the reality of never seeing her again.’’ hospital on

When Maria Fredatovich had a stroke at on the operating table at the age of 13, her right side was completely paralysed.

Doctors told her parents that she would never walk again.

Fredatovich was diagnosed with epilepsy while at primary school and as her seizures worsened, it was suggested brain surgery was an option. Then on the operating table, Fredatovich had a stroke.

To begin with, she couldn’t shower, dress or feed herself without help. She lived at the Wilson Home on Auckland’s North Shore for six months where she had daily physio, occupational therapy and speech language therapy.

‘‘Growing up, as far as I was concerned what happened, happened and I was never really curious as to how or why.’’

Fredatovich described her younger self as an able-bodied tomboy who was into sports who often got up to mischief.

‘‘Suddenly you wake up and you are half paralysed.’’

But the experience being bedridden and having to rely on others in her formative years made her fiercely independent. Despite the stroke, she never felt disabled.

‘‘I got the sense it was up to me to decide what became of my future, no one else could build my muscles for me or make it better for me, it had to be me that put in the hard yards to make it work.’’

Thriving instead of surviving

Her experience led her to launch the Young Stroke Thrivers Foundation in 2016. It aims to empower children affected by a stroke by providing them with opportunities for an active and fulfilling life.

Fredatovich is not a fan of the word survivor, or victim for that matter, which is why she calls those who have had a stroke like herself, thrivers.

Stroke affects people of all ages, with around a quarter of all strokes occurring in people under the age of 65. Ministry of Health data shows about 40 children have a stroke every year in New Zealand.

There are no other organisations in New Zealand dedicated to supporting children after a stroke.

She recalled the isolation she felt. There were support groups for older people but as a 15-year-old, as there was no-one in a similar pos- ition she could share her experience with.

‘‘There was no support and there was no help, it was quite a lonely time.

‘‘I think that made me more determined just to get out there and do stuff.’’

After finishing high school, she moved to London for a gap year which she described as ‘‘one of the best years of her life’’.

She worked as a matron at a boarding school in Surrey then travelled with her family through Europe, and has since been to over 30 countries.

Sport as rehabilitation

The stroke meant Fredatovich needed to keep active to exercise her muscles and joints. But having spent a large amount of time at the gym doing ‘‘tedious exercises’’ since her teenage years, she wanted to do something different.

After several years working and travelling abroad, she returned to New Zealand in 2011. Following a holiday with a cousin in Wanaka she decided to move to the lakeside town. It was while living so close to the slopes that she got into skiing.

‘‘That was my mission, to have a go and find an outdoor sport that would work for me.’’

Fredatovich threw herself into adventure sports like canyoning, whitewater rafting, snowkiting and ‘‘dabbled in’’ kitesurfing.

But it was skiing that she really loved and the freedom it gave her.

‘‘I’m all about giving things a go and finding out if they work for you or if you enjoy them rather than saying you can’t.’’

Creating opportunities

In her late 20s, Fredatovich met a young woman whose life had also been affected by stroke which was ultimately the catalyst for her to start the foundation.

Auckland girl McKenzie KerrBell, had a stroke when she was 12 years-old and the two were put in touch by another family affected by stroke.

Fredatovich met with the KerrBell family several times and she understood was McKenzie was going through. Having realised the importance

being active, Fredatovich of decided to raise to money so McKenzie could travel to Wanaka to participate in an adaptive snow sports programme.

‘‘I just think it is so adaptable and it works for anyone.’’

The trip was a success in the years since, she has raised money for several other children to go skiing, as well as take dance classes and tennis lessons and participate in other activities to help re-build their confidence.

In 2015, she travelled to Queenstown with another two young kids, Sofia and Hugh for a week on the snow with four days of skiing at Cardrona.

‘‘Their courage and determination and most importantly their confidence within themselves was just priceless, it grew immensely.

Growing the network

Fredatovich said it had been a bit of a waiting game as she built up the reputation of the organisation and applied for funding in the hope of being able to offer more children the same opportunities.

The other difficulty was connecting with children who’d had a stroke.

It had been rewarding to be able to connect young people who otherwise didn’t know anyone else who had recovered from a stroke.

‘‘It’s understanding what the other is going through without even having to say anything.’’

It was common for kids affected by stroke to have self-esteem issues and Fredatovich had learnt it was important they were provided with opportunities.

‘‘I understand what they are going through, they have their whole lives ahead of them.’’

The kids remained her focus and she wanted to grow the foundation so anyone under 18 affected by stroke had the chance to be empowered and connect with others.

She would continue to raise awareness of stroke in children and the work of the foundation, while helping to connect kids and provide support for their families.

If every child who’d had a stroke in New Zealand had the chance to give activities a go in a bid to rebuild their confidence, Fredatovich would be happy.