Wire booby trap injures rider
A day of dirt-biking resulted in near disaster when a rider slammed into a piece of wire deliberately tied between trees at neck height in a Hawke’s Bay bike park.
On Saturday, Stacy Howie was riding a quad-bike with his partner Emma Ladd on a dirt track surrounded by trees near Hastings’ Ngaruroro River, when he was flung to the ground.
The pair were horrified to discover a piece of wire twined around two trees.
‘‘We were going pretty fast then all off a sudden Stacy flew off backwards and landed badly, injuring his ankle, shoulder, chest and neck,’’ Ladd said.
‘‘He cut the wire down after he got his breath back. We went back today and followed the track on foot and managed to find three more wires in dangerous parts close by, also.’’
Ladd said Howie was about 188cm tall and she dreaded to think what might have happened if someone shorter had been hit.
‘‘[The wire] hit his chest first then flung up towards his neck.’’
Ladd said they hadn’t yet reported the incident to police but had told the property owner.
The land is owned by Hawke’s Bay Regional Council. Asset management group manager Chris Dolley said the council was ‘‘appalled to hear about the injury’’.
It was acting with ‘‘urgency’’ to establish what had happened.
‘‘Our ranger is contacting the police and is heading to the area now to remove any wire he can find,’’ he said. ‘‘Unfortunately this area is well known for antisocial behaviour and this sort of thing is very concerning.’’
Dolley said Howie should report the incident to the police. ‘‘This type of incident reinforces the need for a greater surveillance on our rivers and accessways. I would urge the public to report any of these types of things to the regional council as soon as possible on 06 835 9200.’’