KEY POINTS:
The injuries sustained by a man viscously beaten on Ocean Beach were the same as a victim of serious car crash, an orthopaedic surgeon told Whangarei District Court.
Les Tasos Connelly, 27, Georgie Abraham Ngaau, 22, and Brandon Cole McMahon, 19, are accused of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to harm to Whangarei Heads lifesaving patrol support officer James Bidois.
Whangarei Hospital orthopaedic surgeon Gareth Laws told the court Mr Bidois' fractured vertebrae was most likely sustained when his head moved "back and forth" while the rest of the body remained still.
He said he was currently treating a patient with the same type of injury who had been in a serious car crash at 80km/h.
Dr Laws said it would be rare for a single punch to have caused such an injury to Mr Bidois. He said injuries to the spinal area were "potentially serious" because of the "potentially dramatic consequences" which can be fatal or leave the victim a quadriplegic.
The court was told that Mr Bidois needed to wear a therapeutic halo, which was bolted to his skull and attached to his hips in order to keep his head still.
Also giving evidence yesterday was a DNA analyst from Environmental Science and Research who linked blood splatters on clothes taken from Ngaau's house to Mr Bidois.
Two days after the attack, police raided Ngaau's Onerahi home and seized clothes which were sent for forensic testing.
The DNA analyst said the blood stains on a T-shirt and board shorts strongly supports that the DNA came from Mr Bidois.
She said there was a one in 300,000 million chance of it coming from someone else.
Also yesterday the young lifeguard who was first attacked at Ocean beach gave evidence.
He said he had been accosted by McMahon and Connelly, who he said were both drunk.
The lifeguard, who was 15 at the time, went with McMahon towards the carpark but noticed McMahon became upset.
McMahon then swung a punch at his head but missed. The youth ran away and it was this incident that sparked Mr Bidois and the patrol captain to confront McMahon and his friends on the beach.
McMahon pleaded guilty at the start of the trial to the assault on the young lifeguard.
Mr Bidois was also due to give evidence yesterday but due to undisclosed reasons will take the stand later in the trial.
- NORTHERN ADVOCATE
