Tourist injured in quad bike crash near Blenheim
The family of a tourist who rolled a quad bike on a public road in Marlborough are anxiously waiting to hear if the woman will spend the rest of her holiday in hospital.
Canadian woman Anna Boyer, 27, was seriously injured when she lost control of the 500cc quad bike turning into a driveway on O’Dwyers Rd in Rapaura, northwest of Blenheim, about 10am on Wednesday.
Her mother-in-law Danielle Fleurie said Boyer was driving from a house on her aunt’s large rural property to another when she rolled the bike.
‘‘I was very worried when the accident happened, very worried,’’ Fleurie, who is from Re´union Island, said.
Senior constable Paul McKenzie said Boyer was going too fast to turn into a gravel driveway and rolled about 5-metres along the road. She was not wearing a helmet and suffered head injuries.
An ambulance, two appliances from the Blenheim Volunteer Fire Brigade and two police patrol cars attended the crash.
Boyer was taken by ambulance to Wairau Hospital in Blenheim, accompanied by her husband.
‘‘She has passed the tests for her head and her neck, so there is good news,’’ Fleurie said.
Boyer would be kept in hospital overnight for observation.
She and her husband had planned to head back to Montreal on Monday, however they were unsure if Boyer would be well enough to go, Fleurie said.
McKenzie said the quad bike was an off-road vehicle.
‘‘She suffered head injuries that would have been totally preventable if she had been wearing the helmet. And that bike should never have been on the road. Quad bikes are not toys. They’re capable of reaching some pretty high speeds. There’s a lot of hazards involved with riding quad bikes.’’
Fleurie said her daughter-inlaw usually wore a helmet but was hurrying back to get her sunglasses, and the road was the quickest route.
‘‘We are just very happy she is OK,’’ Fleurie said.