“He's got nine grandbabies and they all love him" – man survives digger accident thanks to Taranaki Rescue Helicopter

WHEN A REMOTE ROAD NEAR HĀWERA COLLAPSED AND HIS DIGGER BEGAN TO

ROLL DOWN INTO THE GULLY, 60-YEAR-OLD CONTRACTOR RICHARD DREAVER

KNEW IT WAS GOING TO BE BAD, DESCRIBES HIS DAUGHTER SHAYNA DREAVER.

The tumble took him nearly 100 metres down the slope.

“He was crushed on the whole side of his body. He broke his arm, leg, ribs, pelvis – he was completely pinned."

Shayna explains Richard spent six hours trapped beneath the digger, bleeding from serious wounds, and in incredible pain, with no way to call for help.

By four o‘clock, Shayna said the family knew something was wrong when they hadn’t heard from dad, and they left to go to where he had last been seen.

“We reached his ute and when we saw his full lunchbox and coffee, we just knew something was wrong.”

Shayna said 111 was called, then many others, to help in the search for him, including hunters, a nearby construction crew, and LandSAR.

Once he had been located, one of the hunters activated their personal locator beacon, which then alerted NZSAR, which activated the Taranaki Rescue Helicopter to respond to the site of the accident.

The hunters scaled down the hill and attempted to splint his arm.

“He had been packing his wounds with clay and dirt. He was chewing on Kawakawa leaves just to keep his mind ticking over and keeping him alert and awake.”

Once the helicopter was overhead, Shayna said the Taranaki Rescue Helicopter team took control of the situation from the air, and in particular Critical Care Paramedic Ryan, who was first on the ground.

“Dad said, oh, my God, he was awesome. He was amazing.

“As soon as he spoke, everyone stopped what they were doing. They were listening. He really commanded the site.”

It would prove to be an incredibly challenging extraction from a deep gully with steep embankments and power lines overhead, meaning landing on the ground wasn’t feasible.

Richard had to be lifted into the Rescue Helicopter.

Richard was loaded onto the stretcher and then extracted from the site using the rescue winch. He was then flown to Taranaki Base Hospital where he received urgent treatment.

Now, more than 13 surgeries later, Richard is recovering in Waikato Hospital. Shayna said the family are just pleased to still have dad.

“I don’t know where dad would be without that chopper. He's got nine grandbabies and they all love him.

"Someone's been with him every day since he’s been in hospital.”

She said the Taranaki Rescue Helicopter played such an important role in our region and called on people to donate to it.

“Donate to the Rescue Helicopter because you don’t know when you, or when your family, is going to need it."