Man badly hurt in quad bike accident

A mere 24 hours after the Boxing Day death of a teenager riding a quad bike in South Otago, a Wairarapa man has suffered broken ribs after the quadbike he was riding rolled.

About 6.30pm last night, the Westpac Rescue Helicopter responded to a quad bike accident in northern Wairarapa.

A Wairarapa man in his 60s suffered fractured ribs and possible internal injuries after his quad bike rolled on a muddy hill.

Life Flight crewman Dave Greenberg said the helicopter was able to land about 40 metres from the man but the slippery and muddy hill made reaching the man difficult.

``Patches of low cloud made reaching the area difficult for our pilot and the mud at the scene made it very difficult for the entire team on scene.''

After being assessed by a paramedic the man was winched into the helicopter and flown to Wellington Hospital.

``The rescue itself took about 2.5 hours but it took well over 3 hours cleaning the inside of the helicopter,'' Mr Greenberg said.

The man was assessed and treated in the Emergency Department and has been admitted to hospital.

Meanwhile, Catlins Area School principal Alex MacCreadie said the community was ``shellshocked'' by the death of a 16-year-old who had recently been appointed head boy.

Rowan Cai Parker was killed about 6.30pm on Wednesday [26/12] when he lost control of the quad bike he was riding in the Chaslands area and drove over a cliff - falling 150 meters on to rocks.

The horrific death is the year's seventh quad bike fatality.

Rowan had been visiting a farm property with two friends and had been riding motorcycles on farm land between Marks Bay and Wallace Bay.

Balclutha police said initial inquiries established the group were riding along a track beside the coastline.

Police, Papatawai fire brigade and the Otago Rescue Helicopter attended and paramedics confirmed Rowan had died at the scene as result of his injuries.

His body was winched from the rock and airlifted to Dunedin Hospital.

The case has been referred to the coroner.

- APNZ