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As teenager Frazer McKinlay-Storey was about to slip into unconsciousness, he managed to utter four words to his mother: "I love you, Mum."
Frazer drifted off, on board a helicopter heading to Auckland's Starship hospital. He didn't wake, and died two days later. He was just 13.
Last Thursday, about 4.15pm, a mountain-biking accident at the Tauranga BMX Club track at Sulphur Pt left him with a shattered neck.
The Tauranga Boys College student, who lived in Matua and had a passion for mountain biking, fell and hit the ground at such an angle that his neck shattered on impact.
"It wasn't a stunt or a jump ... it was just a berm that he was riding around and didn't realise there was a drop off on one side," Frazer's stepfather, Ross Bond, said yesterday. Frazer was to visit his father in Auckland the next day and was having a last blast around the track.
He was equipped with a brand-new crash helmet, but no protective gear could have saved him, Mr Bond said.
After the fall, a friend of his ran to get help and dialled 111. St John Ambulance staff arrived shortly afterwards.
Frazer was conscious for 12 hours after the accident.
"The doctors there were saying it was the worst neck injury they've seen on anyone because most people who have had that sort of accident would have been killed outright. So for him to have been conscious for 12 hours was quite something," Mr Bond said.
Frazer's condition deteriorated on Friday _ his mother Charlotte McKinlay's birthday _ and he was put on a ventilator before being prepared for the trip to the Starship. He spoke to his mother before being sedated for the 5pm flight. "The last thing he said was, `I love you, Mum'. He never woke up," Mr Bond said.
At Starship, an MRI scan showed the severity of his injuries and Frazer passed away peacefully on Sunday.
The family are devastated. "We're getting through it all, ups and downs," Mr Bond said.
Frazer's passion for mountain biking was ignited when he bought a bike at the beginning of the school year, his first at Tauranga Boys College. It was the first he'd bought out of his own pocket.
"He lived for it. He'd come in and have breakfast wearing his helmet," Mr Bond said. "Anywhere he wanted to go ... we had to dismantle his bike and put it in the car to take it with us."
Mr Bond said Frazer would be remembered as "a complete joker, bubbly, outgoing and very generous."
"[He was] an absolute gem to be around, wise beyond his years. He was a really good kid."
Tauranga Boys College Principal Robert Mangan said Frazer had been making good progress and had just been moved up a class. "Our thoughts and condolences are with the family in what is a very tragic accident."
Tauranga BMX Club President Ash Rawson said the next club meeting on the track would be in Frazer's honour.
Frazer's funeral will be in Auckland at Romaleigh Funeral Home, 31 Oceanview Rd, Northcote at midday tomorrow.
- NZPA
