Boy racer who maimed friend in accident 'knows he's done wrong'

Amy Duncan was run over by Khan Roper near this spot on Manuka Road in Glenfield. Photos / Herald on Sunday, supplied

A teenage boy who ran over a friend in what police are calling a street race knows he has done wrong, says his mother.

Khan Roper, 17, told the Herald on Sunday last night he was behind the wheel of the car that hit his friend, Amy Duncan, 17.

Duncan, a former Glenfield College student, was with a group of friends in Glenfield on Thursday night when a speeding car lost control and hit her.

The accident led to her left leg being amputated below the knee - and has likely dashed her dreams of serving in the Royal New Zealand Navy as a gunner. Amy had been due to start with the Navy in a week.

Police Senior Sergeant Mark Fergus said: "Charges will be laid ... but we are not going to rush into it. It's a real tragedy for this young girl whose life is now changed forever."

Roper, a boat builder, said he had been interviewed by police, and was deeply upset about the accident.

His mother Debbie Lovich said she felt numb and was horrified at the pain Amy and her family were going through. She had met Amy shortly before the accident.

"I can't even but think how Amy's parents, the family, what they're going through. I really feel for them.

"It was just horrific," she said. "It's just so hard to believe. I feel kind of numb. Obviously, its not something he set out to do. It's quite out of his character. But we can't turn back the clock, can we?"

Lovich said her son had been unable to speak much about the accident. When he arrived home early on Friday morning "I just gave him a big cuddle", she said.

"The trauma that he must be going through and dealing with is horrific. He doesn't need us bleating at him but he knows what he's done wrong.

"He knows that we're there for him. He's our son and that will never change. We're not 100 per cent happy with his call... We know ourselves we've made bad calls. There's really no good outcome, is there?"

Amy's mother Julie Duncan was at her bedside in North Shore Hospital last night, too upset to speak. The accident came as a fresh blow for the family after Amy's father Garry died of cancer a year ago.

Her step-mother Julie Duncan received a call from Amy six hours after the accident, asking her to call Garry Duncan's parents, Don and Grace Duncan. The family had gathered in Devonport last night.

Don Duncan said: "It was a shock, a bloody shock. But at least she's not dead. That's it, she's lost her leg but she's got her life."

They went to see Amy yesterday. She was still on morphine and oxygen but in good spirits.

"She was awake and talking. When I walked in she put her arms out [to hug me]," Don said. "She has no other injuries. To look at her you wouldn't know anything had happened, but boy she's got a hard time ahead."

Don Duncan said Amy, who turns 18 in June, wanted to be either a medic or a gunner in the Navy.

"She has accepted that there's no way in hell she's going into the Navy now, which is very unfortunate. It hasn't really hit home yet though ... I don't think she realises what the aftermath's going to be."

The accident happened on Amy's last day at school. A Navy spokesman said that Amy's case would be discussed with recruiters to see whether she could still be accepted. Navy guidelines state that recruits need to be able to run 4km in "respectable time", swim 50m and tread water for three minutes.

Friend Connor Bliss, 16, who visited her in hospital yesterday, said Amy had just got out of his car to sit on the kerb when a souped-up car hit her just three minutes later. He alleged it was going more than 80km/h.

"She got out of my car and went to sit on the kerb and two cars came speeding down the street. They must have been going at least 80 or 100km/h," he said.

"I watched it go into her and jumped back. She was screaming [and] there was quite a lot of blood. Her leg was just crushed. It was mangled."

Best friend Ashleigh-May Innes, who is in the United States on an exchange, told the Herald on Sunday via email she planned to return and flat with Amy.

"Amy had major plans for the Navy and had finally been accepted after months of training - I can't believe all that has been taken away."

Police are looking for more witnesses to the street race, and anyone with information can call them on (09) 477 5000.