Daniel Woolley was driving his wife Rachel and 4-year-old daughter, Teegan to Whitianga on Christmas Eve when they were hit by a car on State Highway 1 in Motutere, south of Taupo, just after 7pm. The driver of the other car, Shaquille Dempsey, 24, of Turangi died at the scene. Video / Daniel Woolley
Daniel Woolley, who survived a fatal Christmas Eve crash, has told family of the now deceased driver that came hurtling towards him that he "never had a bad thought about him".
"People just make mistakes," Woolley said about Turangi resident Shaquille Dempsey, 24, who was killed after his car allegedly came speeding towards Woolley "fully sideways" on State Highway 1 in Motutere.
Woolley, his wife Rachel and daughter Teegan, 4, were travelling to Whitianga for Christmas before the collision left them seriously injured, and meant they woke up in hospital beds on Christmas Day.
Woolley is still awaiting surgery on his leg in Wellington Hospital - and the family has not been together since that drive.
Woolley recounted the harrowing details of the crash, including seeing his wife covered in blood and his daughter flung upside down, in a video posted to social media to raise awareness about road safety.
But he told the Herald today that he does not hold it against Dempsey.
"We lost that guy that hit us.
"I've contacted one of his family members yesterday and said, 'I give you my deepest sympathies'. I can't imagine what it's like, and they in turn told me they lost his brother on that same road in 2008. So that poor family has lost two of their sons.
Woolley said his girlfriend at the age of 17 was killed in a crash, which might have contributed to his forgiving nature towards Dempsey.
"This event happened ... but before that I would have been really pissed off, I would have been angry at the world."
Woolley said one of Dempsey's relatives who lives in Australia contacted him "saying how bad they felt for everything".
"They are in Australia and can't come back.
"It's hard for everyone. But like I said to them, I've spent the last 16 days in hospital and I haven't seen my wife or daughter and ... it's hard, it's really hard."
Woolley said he is awaiting a third round of surgery for his "shattered" leg in the fourth hospital he's visited since the crash.
"[I] may end up losing my foot and lower limb if they can't reconstruct it.
"I'm now at my fourth hospital because they couldn't do it, all the other [three]. They sent me to this one because they've got one chap who thinks he can do it.
"It's a pretty complex injury. It is just a leg at the end of the day, but they've been trying to figure out how to fix it."
Woolley expects to be in Wellington Hospital for another few weeks, while his wife and daughter who were treated in Waikato Hospital, have returned home.
"We've got really good community support. We live in a little town outside of Bulls, Scotts Ferry, so we've got a really good community out there and everyone looks after everyone it's bloody brilliant.
"Everyone is dropping her baking, and fish and all sorts of stuff. Everyone feels genuinely sorry for us, that this has happened to us."
Daniel Woolley's wife, Rachel, in Waikato Hospital with their daughter, Teegan, 4. Photo / Supplied
From his hospital bed, Woolley has continued to urge drivers to slow down and think twice before undertaking a potentially dangerous manoeuvre or overtake.
He has shared his recovery journey online - and while he personally has received a lot of support - he has been disheartened by general comments made on Facebook traffic groups regarding road safety.
"It's bloody hard when you see people who have no regard for other's safety on the road.
"I didn't think it was [a big] thing, the attitude of Kiwis out there, until what happened to me."
Woolley said he wants drivers "to think about their attitude on the road", and hopes his family's experience will help to do that.
"A really touching story like this ... I never meant for it to come across like that but it has. It seems to have touched people's hearts.
"I've got thousands of messages on my phone from people contacting me. It's amazing, it really is."
Daniel Woolley was a driver who survived a fatal car crash on Christmas Eve. Photo / Supplied
A Facebook group Woolley established for people to share their experiences of recovering from trauma has attracted more than 700 members since Thursday.
Meanwhile a Givealittle page set up by a friend for Woolley and his family has raised almost $8,000.
Seventeen people died on roads around the country over the official Christmas and New Year holiday period.
It was the worst holiday period for deaths since 2016-17, when 19 people were killed.
"For 17 people to lose their lives is just horrendous … it's an absolutely tragic number," Assistant Commissioner Bruce O'Brien earlier told the Herald.
