Hurt biker praises helpers
Woman grateful passersby sprang into action after she was thrown off motorcycle
Amotorcycle pillion passenger thrown through the air in an Auckland crash has praised those who rushed to treat her and keep her calm as she lay on the road injured.
Jacqui van Koningsveld was sent crashing on to her head on Tamaki Drive in St Heliers on Sunday afternoon when a four-wheel-drive turned in front of the bike she was on.
“I just heard my husband say, ‘oh no’,” she said from hospital today.
“I felt us braking really hard and then I knew I was going through the air.”
“Apparently, I landed on my head, but I don’t have any neck damage.”
The crash broke van Koningsveld’s ribs, and as she lay on the ground close to the wheel of the four-wheeldrive vehicle, shock and the shakes quickly set in.
Nearby her husband Greg — although not as badly hurt — had to crawl on his hands and knees to get
near his wife.
“He was really worried about me and upset,” van Koningsveld said.
However, passersby quickly sprang into action to help the pair.
One man steadied van Koningsveld’s head, keeping it straight, while a woman called Sabine took up her hand and began comforting her.
“They were being so cool, keeping me calm and telling me what’s going on,” van Koningsveld said.
“They were telling me people were looking after Greg.”
The pair knelt on the asphalt for “ages” by her side, she said.
A motorcyclist who had been following behind also rushed in to calm Greg and reassure him his wife was being looked after.
Meanwhile, a female doctor passed between the pair checking on their condition.
All the helpers were just passersby who had rushed in to help, van Koningsveld said. We often don’t pay attention to how amazing members of our community are until we are
They were being so cool, keeping me calm and telling me what’s going on. Jacqui van Koningsveld injured pillion passenger
in a bad situation and need their help, she said.
“Sometimes these people get overlooked and I just wanted to really thank them,” van Koningsveld said.
She said the emergency services had also been terrific, with three ambulances, the Westpac Rescue Helicopter and fire crews all turning up to the crash.
The crash left a v-shaped dent in the front of the four-wheel-drive’s bonnet and pushed the motorbike’s front forks right back. But van Koningsveld and her husband were lucky the crash had been at low speed, around 30-40km/h, she said.
As pillion passenger, van Koningsveld had earlier been looking at pedestrians along Tamaki Drive where she thought she might she spot a friend.
While that meant she was caught by surprise by the crash, she also thought it had helped her avoid worse injuries because her body was relaxed.
She is expecting to stay another few days in hospital because “all her ribs” were broken and doctors are monitoring her in case this leads to her lungs collapsing.
Greg was discharged last night. The motorcyclist who had been following behind the pair told them he caught the crash on his GoPro and offered to share it with police.
The four-wheel drive driver had also admitted responsibility for turning in front of them, van Koningsveld said.