The teenager is excited to get his prosthetic leg soon, and plans on working on his own car
The driver involved, his sister’s partner, has pleaded guilty to charges relating to the incident
A teen who lost half his leg at a boy racer meet gone wrong is coming to terms with his new reality - and has even managed to drive his mum’s car using his crutches to press the pedals.
Christopher Junior (CJ) Holmes doesn’t want to waste any time after getting his prosthetic leg: he plans to start working on his own car as he continues to recover from his amputation.
CJ, 15, was out with his sister and a crowd of 30 people doing burnouts and skids at Himatangi Block Rd in Foxton on June 16.
But what started as a fun night for CJ went horribly wrong when a car spun out of control as he watched from the sidelines.
He had to have his leg amputated below the knee and has been recovering at his mum’s home near Napier since then. In the early days after his surgery, CJ was optimistic, telling the Herald “I will learn to walk again with a prosthetic – anything is possible.”
CJ has been getting around with crutches and a wheelchair while he waits for his prosthetic. Photo / Paul Taylor
As time went on, the challenges of losing a limb have become clear to CJ, who now said he was “f***ing pissed off that I’ve not got my leg”.
“It’s just, like, confusing, cause you go to do stuff that you normally do with two legs and you go try it with one leg and you can’t even do it at all,” he said.
“It just makes everything difficult. I’ve got to focus on balancing if I’m standing up or I’ve got to focus on getting my wheelchair . . . make sure my crutch doesn’t slip or I don’t trip over anything.”
Mum Amanda Carr said CJ had “come to terms with it really well” and " just wants to get on with it”.
The pair earlier urged the driver of the car to hand himself in to police. He has since been arrested and pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to injure (reckless) and operating a vehicle with sustained loss of traction.
CJ said the driver, his sister’s partner, had been in contact with him, “just asking if I’m alright, anything he can do for me”.
“He was going to give me the car he hit me in but the police impounded it and took it.”
His sister had also been in the passenger seat of the car when it hit CJ, meaning all three people “had quite horrific things happen”, Carr said.
“There is a little bit of feelings there, but they’re going to get over it,” she said.
CJ's leg was amputated below the knee. Photo / Paul Taylor
CJ is due to be fitted for a prosthetic this month, with hopes to have his new artificial limb by early October.
“Once I get my leg I’ll just be focusing on building my car, putting my car back together,” he said.
CJ was “real excited” to get the prosthetic. “I just want to know what it’s like to walk again. Learning how to walk, wondering what it’s going to be like,” he said.
In the meantime, he hasn’t been letting the loss get in the way of his love for cars. He was able to drive his mum’s manual car for the first time recently on their property, operating the pedals with crutches.
“It was f***ing good. It was good as,” he said.
CJ wanted to thank all the health professionals who cared for him after the crash and also wanted to send a message to others.
“Just watch where you’re going when you’re skidding and stay off the skid pad when there’s someone else skidding,” he said.
“Don’t get hit by cars, it hurts.”
Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.
