Whakatāne teenager hit by two cars breaks ‘every bone in his body’

Pictured left to right in June 2023: Siblings Sapphire Patuwai, Afyna Patuwai, Raphael Patuwai and Sapphire's husband Hoani Atkins-Williams Patuwai. Raphael is holding a photo of his father Robert Patuwai who died when Raphael was 12.

A Whakatāne teenager “broke every bone in his body” – and survived – after being hit by two cars while walking home in the middle of the night, his sister says.

Sapphire Patuwai, 23, told the Bay of Plenty Times her 18-year-old brother Raphael Patuwai was airlifted from Whakatāne Hospital to Waikato Hospital on Sunday with “severe” injuries.

She said he has had “multiple” surgeries for his legs, with more to come.

“They’ve still got to fix his arms and his back. His lungs have been drained. He’s lost his right kidney. The one that he’s got left isn’t doing what it needs to be doing so he’s on dialysis.”

She said doctors told her family Raphael “broke every bone in his body – all 206 of them”.

“It’s shocking – he’s just one tough fella that’s for sure. He survived it - that’s just a testament to who he is.”

Pictured left to right in June 2023: Siblings Sapphire Patuwai, Afyna Patuwai, Raphael Patuwai and Sapphire's husband Hoani Atkins-Williams Patuwai. Raphael is holding a photo of his father Robert Patuwai who died when Raphael was 12.

Police previously told the Herald the man was located seriously injured on White Pine Bush Rd/State Highway 2 shortly after midnight on Sunday. The rural area is south of the Whakatāne township.

Police believed he was hit by “at least two vehicles”. The driver of one was assisting police with inquiries and police are searching for the driver of another vehicle, described as a blue SUV.

‘He was just trying to get home’

Sapphire – who lives with Raphael in Whakatāne – said Raphael was at a family event at a home on White Pine Bush Rd.

“It was dark and it was raining. The weather was really yucky that night.”

Sapphire said her brother was “too shy” to ask for a ride home or ask for the Wi-Fi password to arrange one.

“He’ll walk anywhere just to go home. That’s what he was doing – he was just trying to get home … It wouldn’t matter how far it was.”

She said the walk home would have been “a couple of hours”.

“I’ve walked roads many times in my life from parties … it’s not something that’s rare.”

She acknowledged it was dangerous.

“But at the end of the day, if you hit someone, you stay until help comes.”

Sapphire said Raphael was not drunk when he was found.

“They didn’t find alcohol in his system so he was sober, he was aware.”

Raphael expected to spend weeks in hospital

Sapphire said the details of what happened that night were “a bit vague”.

“I just remember waking up [at] 4.30 in the morning thinking that the person [who] was knocking on the door was my brother. And I opened it and it was the police.

“From what I do understand though, someone had reported him seeing him walking in the middle of the road. By the time the police had gotten there, he had already been hit.

“The police told me that the second people that hit him stayed. They stopped him from getting hit again … they followed him to the hospital.”

Sapphire rushed to Whakatāne Hospital as soon as she learned of the accident and had been with Raphael since.

She said Raphael was intubated upon being admitted “because his injuries were too severe” and was not talking yet.

Siblings Raphael and Sapphire Patuwai live together in Whakatāne.

The doctor told them Raphael would be in hospital for at least two to three weeks, she said.

“Regarding the circumstances, we’re holding up pretty good. We’re a strong family – we’ve been through a lot. We’re just trying to keep as positive as possible for our brother and sending good energy towards him so he can feel all of that … He’s a strong man.”

Sapphire said Raphael – a former Trident High School student – had just turned 18 and loved kickboxing and cooking.

She said Raphael was “the baby of our family” – the pair were two of seven siblings.

A Givealittle page has been set up for Raphael. Donations would go towards his rehabilitation and everything he needed to get better, Sapphire said.

“I just want to thank everyone for their messages of love and tautoko [support]. Me and my family are forever grateful, especially towards our community because they’ve been amazing. Any messages, any words of encouragement, all of it, it means so much to us … and it helps more than they will ever know.”

‘Strong lines of inquiry’

A police spokeswoman said police received “a number of calls” reporting a person walking in the middle of the road.

“Unfortunately the person had been hit by the time police arrived.”

Police were speaking to people about what happened and following “strong lines of inquiry” to locate the driver of a blue vehicle.

Anyone with helpful information who had not yet come forward could contact police via the 105 service online or by phone, referencing file number 240818/1806.

On Sunday, a Hato Hone St John spokesperson said it was notified of a motor vehicle incident on White Pine Bush Rd at 12.17am and transported one patient to Whakatāne hospital in a critical condition.

Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.