Ōmanawa resident Hazel Jamieson told the Herald she was a "minute away from being home and safe” when she was hit. Photo / Supplied
Ōmanawa resident Hazel Jamieson told the Herald she was a "minute away from being home and safe” when she was hit. Photo / Supplied
Hazel Jamieson suffered multiple injuries after a head-on collision with a tourist campervan on May 10.
Driver Andrew Scott Cicciari pleaded guilty to careless driving, receiving a six-month disqualification and $1000 reparation.
Jamieson praised her community’s support and called for road safety improvements to prevent similar crashes.
A motorist hit in a head-on collision caused by a tourist campervan driving on the wrong side of the road is facing the lasting effects of her traumatic injuries after the “scariest day” of her life.
A 22-year-old tourist, Andrew Scott Cicciari from Connecticut, appeared in Tauranga District Court on May 23 and pleaded guilty to two counts of operating a vehicle carelessly and causing injury.
Cicciari, the driver of the campervan, was handed down a six-month disqualification and ordered to pay $1000 in reparation to Jamieson.
A 20-year-old US tourist was a victim of a life-changing head-on collision, which left her with several devastating injuries and a broken back. Photo / GoFundMe
Nearly a month on from the Western Bay of Plenty crash, Jamieson could only remember one thing from the fateful day.
“I just saw white, and then the car sort of filling with smoke.”
Jamieson said she stayed in hospital for four nights for the several injuries she suffered, including a dislocated foot with multiple fractures, a fractured elbow, a light concussion and significant bruising across her pelvis and chest from the seatbelt’s impact.
Thankfully, she said she doesn’t have any broken ribs or internal damage.
Jamieson said when her friends saw the photo of the car wreck, they asked, “How did you walk away from that?”
Ōmanawa resident Hazel Jamieson told the Herald she was a "minute away from being home and safe” when she was hit. Photo / NZME
On the day of the crash, Jamieson said she had just been out to town to get groceries, and thankfully, her partner and stepson didn’t want to go with her.
With a bootload of groceries in her car, she drove around a bend on the road and came face to face with the campervan.
Said Jamieson: “The van was on my side of the road, and I literally only had time to think, what the hell?
“And that was it. It was impact, it was just instant.”
Jamieson said she must have pulled a hard left because of where her car ended up, but didn’t remember doing it.
“All I can remember is white.
“And I think because the van was white I think the airbags were white. It was really sunny and bright.”
Ōmanawa resident Hazel Jamieson told the Herald she was a "minute away from being home and safe” when she was hit. Photo / Supplied
Jamieson said she had a fairly good recollection of the aftermath up until she was cut out of the car, but had no memory of being put on a stretcher and in an ambulance.
“The next thing I can remember is looking up and thinking and saying, ‘Oh, am I in an ambulance? ’”
Hato Hone St John said they sent three ambulances, a manager, a rapid response unit and a helicopter to the crash.
“Our crews assessed and treated three patients, one in a critical condition and one in a moderate condition, who were airlifted to Waikato Hospital, and one in a serious condition who was transported by road to Tauranga Hospital.”
Neighbours first on the scene
Jamieson said her neighbours were having a cup of tea when they heard the loud crash.
“They were there so fast.
“I think for me, it felt like a long time, but I think in reality it was minutes.”
She said one of her neighbours, who came to the rescue was an ex-rescue diver.
Her neighbours called her partner straight away, and he was on the scene within minutes.
She said the support that she received from her community and her neighbours was overwhelming.
“I think that’s the thing with a small rural community, everyone knows everyone.”
She said during her rehabilitation neighbours showed up to put a ramp on her porch so she could leave the house.
“It would just be very different and very lonely, I think, and a lot more scary if I hadn’t known the people that were around me until emergency services arrived.”
‘Pain’s good because you’re alive’
“To be honest, more than the crash, what will haunt me is actually the pain because I’ve had injuries and accidents and things before but never have I experienced pain like that.
“My partner reminds me, it’s like, pain’s good because you’re alive.”
She said the outcome could have been so much worse and was holding onto the few positives of the situation to help her deal with the events.
Jamieson said she spoke to a crash investigator following the crash, and he told her crashes like these are very common.
“He says he sees it a lot on rural roads like ours and quiet roads, because there’s not that constant flow of oncoming traffic to remind foreign drivers what side of the road they’re supposed to be on.”
She said she was told the tourists drove past the Omanawa Falls and took a U-turn further up the road.
“That’s when they’ve sort of gone back to their habit and gone onto the right-hand side of the road.”
“At the end of the day, they’re very young. It was an accident and unfortunately, accidents do happen, and [I’m] just really, really grateful that none of us died.”
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