Survivor counts her blessings

By NATASHA HARRIS

Six months ago, Ana Marie Le Roux was paralysed in a car crash, her injuries sparking warnings of the danger of rear-seat lapbelts.

The 30-year-old had been sitting between her two children in the back seat when the head-on collision occurred near Meremere.

Her body jack-knifed around the lapbelt, breaking her back, crushing her colon and small intestine, puncturing her aorta and stomach in three places and causing her kidneys to stop working briefly.

Three months later she was able to travel past the accident spot for the first time, scared and anxious, but grateful she could walk again.

Today she feels lucky to be alive and hopes lessons have been learned from her experience.

"If this accident makes parents with three or four children realise that none of the kids can sit in the middle lapbelt seat, that's a good thing," she says. "I could have gone through the front windscreen without it, but it gives such a false sense of security."

The Le Roux family, from Hamilton, had spent New Year in Auckland and were returning home when the accident happened. Mrs Le Roux was in the back seat between daughter Trinita, 3, and 3-week-old son Christian while her husband, Nico, drove.

Near Meremere they saw a car heading straight for them and Mr Le Roux slowed almost to a halt before the cars collided.

When Mrs Le Roux tried to check on the children after the impact she could not turn. Her back was broken.

The last thing she remembered was the children screaming and being taken out of the car.

They were unhurt and Mr Le Roux injured his knees. But her horrendous injuries led doctors to call for lapbelts to be outlawed.

But road safety authorities have ruled out an early law change, saying cost and New Zealand's dependence on used imported cars - most of which have backseat lapbelts - made a move to three-point belts virtually impossible.

After three months in Middlemore Hospital, having four hours of physiotherapy a day, Mrs Le Roux was able to return to the scene of the accident, in which a woman travelling in the other car died.

Mrs Le Roux said she was frightened about returning to the scene. "But when I got there, a feeling of calm came over me. I felt only tremendous sadness for the lady who passed away."

She put her survival down to prayers and God.

"I heard a male voice when I was unconscious and it asked me whether I wanted to live or die.

"I answered that I didn't know, as at that stage I was convinced my children had got hurt or died.

"Then I became conscious and I insisted to my husband that he bring the kids in. When I saw they were 100 per cent, I felt really relieved."

Mrs Le Roux continues to receive physiotherapy and can walk with crutches.

Doctors say she can expect to walk without help in six months but the stomach injuries will take much longer to heal.

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