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Teenager Farhat Buksh still has headaches and memory loss six months after an accident in which a lamp post crashed on to his head after it was struck by a police car.
Farhat 14, suffered brain injuries and a fractured neck when he was struck by the post while walking across a pedestrian crossing outside Owairaka School in Richardson Rd on August 3.
The post was hit by an unmarked police car driven by Constable Aaron Holmes, who was chasing a vehicle that had sped away from an alcohol checkpoint.
Holmes appeared in the Auckland District Court yesterday and denied a charge of aggravated careless use of a motor vehicle, causing injury. A hearing has been set down for May 14.
Farhat told the Herald he had returned to Mt Roskill Grammar, but still had headaches and tired easily.
He thought he was lucky to survive and looked forward to playing cricket again.
Farhat's grandmother, Misha Ali, said she now worried about him each time he left the house.
"The whole time [he's away] I'm thinking about him," Mrs Ali said.
She said it was a miracle he had survived. "There was no hope - he came out of death's door ... we didn't know if he would even recognise us."
