KEY POINTS:
It's not enough money to buy a house but it's certainly enough to buy a used Nissan, go on holiday and have a nice wad of cash left over.
That's how John Ashman describes the payout he received from Fonterra after one of the company's milk tankers ploughed into his Waipawa house in Hawkes Bay in December and broke his leg.
The dairy giant this week confirmed it had signed off on compensation packages for all eight people affected when a 43-tonne Fonterra tanker veered off State Highway 2 and sliced through three houses on December 30.
Details of the package were said to be commercially sensitive.
Mr Ashman, 55, already nursing a broken heel, had been relaxing with a book in his lounge when the fully laden truck smashed through the wall of his rented home.
The impact of the truck broke his other leg in three places and sent him flying into the next room.
Mr Ashman lost most of his belongings in the accident, which was caused by the driver choking on a lolly.
Speaking from Oamaru, where he was taking a holiday visiting relatives at Fonterra's expense, Mr Ashman declined to say how much the payout was worth.
"Let's just say it was more than I expected, and I'm very satisfied," he said.
"You can't replace what I've lost - most of my antiques and heirlooms are gone forever - but I'm extremely happy with the figure".
Since receiving the cash on March 9, he had bought a dark blue Nissan Regulus, "the car I've always wanted".
Mr Ashman is still on crutches and receiving physiotherapy and counselling.
He is waiting for the landlord to rebuild his home, and is determined to get back to work as a van driver "just as soon as my legs heal".
His sister Lynne Hulton, who lived next door but was away camping at a nearby river when the accident occurred, lost her home and three cats in the accident. She is still deciding whether to rebuild.
- HAWKE'S BAY TODAY
