KEY POINTS:
A shame-faced businessman who picked up a prostitute in his car before they plunged 40m down a bank into a gully says his partner is sticking by him as he recovers from injuries.
The 28-year-old, who did not want to be identified, told the Herald he regretted picking
up the woman from Christchurch's red-light district.
"It was the first time I had ever done it. My partner knows everything. I have told her the whole truth. She's really supportive," he said.
"The ones that know me know it's not my normal behaviour. It was one of those spur-of-the-moment things."
The man and woman he hired were driving to the Port Hills outside the city when, before any services were received, the car failed to take a bend and rolled down the bank.
The pair lay trapped for several hours in darkness and freezing cold.
The detail about the prostitute came out when emergency services were called to help after the man limped out and flagged down a car last Friday morning.
He and the prostitute are now claiming the other was driving at the time of the crash.
Constable Graham Flynn said: "Until we can prove which one was driving, we are in a catch-22 situation. Neither has given a formal interview."
The man told the Herald he was certain the woman was driving before the car went off the road, because she had asked to drive.
"I can remember just flying and looking to the left and then it was just pass-out material."
He has broken ribs, fractured vertebrae and a chipped collarbone. The woman suffered a neck injury.
He told the Herald he regained consciousness when the woman, who could not be contacted by the Herald, was speaking to him. "She was asking me if I was all right and she was screaming at me. It's all because she was in shock. We are definitely both lucky to have survived."
The pair waited and tried to sleep until daylight.
The businessman said he then fought against the pain and walked to a nearby road to wave down a car.
He was taken to Christchurch Hospital by ambulance. The woman was freed from the vehicle and a helicopter flew her down to hospital.
The man spent two days in hospital and is now on pain medication, but hopes to make a full recovery.
"There's a lot of pain now. I find it hard to move. I'm shattered."
He said he had not spoken to the prostitute since the crash.
