Prayers as 4WD topples and rolls

The Mitsubishi Pajero that hit a ditch and rolled on the Masterton-Castlepoint Rd near Tauweru on Saturday. PHOTO/GERALD FORD

Passing strangers and the power of prayer helped keep a family from serious harm, a young mother says, after they became trapped in their toppled vehicle near Masterton on Boxing Day.

Teneya Te Whata said she and her husband Taura and their two sons, Kalos, 6, and Bronze, 4, had been travelling back from Castlepoint Beach to Masterton on Saturday afternoon when their four-wheel drive Mitsubishi Pajero became mired in gravel.

The teetotalling Auckland couple and their children had been at the beach with members of their Wairarapa family and were heading back to town in the borrowed vehicle, while their daughter, Nueva, 8, returned from Castlepoint with cousins.

The trip had been uneventful until the Pajero lost traction on a straight stretch of the Masterton-Castlepoint Rd near Tauweru.

After toppling from the roadway, she said, the vehicle had rolled before coming to rest on its roof in a ditch.

"We slid for a while and the car tipped and then rolled maybe four or five times. But the boys were fine, we're all fine. We all had our seatbelts on and the boys never screamed or anything."

Mrs Te Whata said passers-by had called emergency services and up to a half dozen drivers had stopped and offered help after several strangers freed the family from the vehicle.

"The firefighters were pretty quick but two guys got there first and they helped us get out. They ran over, asked how many were in the car.

"The first few guys who were there, we have to find them to thank them. Because they risked their lives. They weren't to know the car wasn't going to blow up or anything."

Mrs Te Whata said she was taken to Wairarapa Hospital for assessment and a medical officer was surprised they had escaped serious injury.

"The person that took my x-ray said they couldn't believe we were standing and walking around. But I knew we were all fine straight after it happened.

"Because you know what, my husband was praying the whole time we were rolling and I believe that's why we got through okay."

Mrs Te Whata said she and her husband were grateful to emergency service workers and "all the people who helped or offered to help -- it was just unbelievable".