Troy Hammond's scooter was crushed under the rubbish truck. Photo / Supplied
Troy Hammond's scooter was crushed under the rubbish truck. Photo / Supplied
A Wellington man who was dragged under a truck while riding his Vespa is amazed he made it out relatively unscathed.
Troy Hammond, a podcast host and entrepreneur, was on his way to work yesterday morning on his new Vespa scooter when he was caught up in a crash with an Envirowaste rubbish truck at the intersection of Courtenay Place and Tory St.
Troy Hammond hosting his show 'We F*@kin Love Startups Podcast'.
“It all happened so fast and I was in so much shock, there just wasn’t anything I could do,” he told the Herald.
“I was dragged underneath it for about 15 metres with my legs and my bike crushed under the truck.”
From there, the 43-year-old’s memory is hazy. He knows he wasn’t unconscious, as he has been told he was still talking as the emergency services rushed to the scene, but much of the incident is a blur.
“I just remember lying there, and this lovely lady – I’d love to find out who she was, she was so sweet – was sitting there and holding my hand and waited with me until the ambulance got there.”
Miraculously, Hammond suffered no serious injuries from the crash – just a broken toe, and a missing toenail from where it was crushed.
However, he said despite there being no broken bones, he was still in agony as the shock wore off.
“I’m in severe pain all over my body as the adrenaline and the good drugs wear off.”
He was amazed he got out alive and relatively uninjured.
“I think the driver came over afterwards to check I was all right . . . you know for me, it was just an accident and I’m okay.”
“I hope the driver is okay and not too shaken up.”
He wanted people to see the positives in life, following the incident.
The scene of the accident yesterday. Photo / NZME
“There’s so much negativity and pain in the world that we see every day and we read in the news, and I’ve been trying to live my life positively so maybe this is some kind of good karma for that – or maybe it’s just dumb luck!”
Despite the shock and fear of the crash, one of the things he remembered most clearly was how lovely the woman who sat with him was – and that was what he wanted to take away from the situation.
“The loveliness of the world and the great, the lovely things that people do in the world and not the negative.”
A spokesperson for EnviroWaste told the Herald they are assisting police, and conducting their own investigation into the crash.
“Yesterday one of our trucks was involved in a road incident at a traffic light-controlled intersection on Courtenay Place,” they said.
“Our driver did not go through a red light. We are assisting police with their inquiries, and we are conducting our own investigation into this incident. We’re glad to hear Mr Hammond is back on his feet and we wish him a full recovery.”
A police spokesperson told the Herald the inquiries were ongoing and as such they could not comment further.
