The Government is set to invest millions in fog cannons, civil defense responses to a flooded Waihī beach and tourists find a bizarre Madeline McCan 'shrine' in the latest New Zealand Herald headlines. Video / NZ Herald
A small community north of Auckland is “shocked and upset” after a family of four suffered serious injuries while riding a quad bike on a slip-ridden road.
On Saturday, a quad bike carrying Whangateau resident John McLean, his wife Paula and two daughters Jasmine and Delilah slid off slip-ravaged Ashton Rd down a steep muddy bank, sparking a major emergency service response.
Three of the four family members were hospitalised after the horror crash.
The McLean family are being supported by Auckland's Whangateau community after being injured in a quad bike crash on Saturday. Photo / Supplied
Paula needed to be extracted by a winch from a height of around 60m. She remains in a stable but critical condition in the hospital.
An Ashton Rd resident had earlier told the Herald the top part of the street had been blocked off because of slips so residents had been using quad bikes to go up and down the road while repair work was done.
Local Board member for Rodney Warkworth subdivision Ivan Wagstaff told the Herald the incident was “extremely concerning”.
The McLean family had been “well-involved” in the community and the incident had caused “shock and upset” among the locals, he said.
“People are rallying around to support them. We rely heavily on volunteers for support, in a small community such as ours, everyone knows everyone. A number of my friends are close friends with the family.
“The family is receiving good care from the community. A givealittle page and a meal train have been set up to support them as well. The father and children need this support.”
Images of the woman being rescued were captured by the rescue helicopter crew. Photo / Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust
Residents of Ashton Rd were one of many isolated communities on the end of roads requiring maintenance, Wagstaff said.
Northern Rodney had hundreds of gravel roads that needed constant repair and maintenance to a higher level.
“As a local board, we are trying to do what we can but we are reliant on council and government funding to address these underlying concerns.”
The crash scene, captured from the air by the rescue helicopter crew. Photo / Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust
Wagstaff said he was not aware of residents using quad bikes to travel up and down the slip-ravaged road until this incident but “obviously that’s not an isolated situation, a lot of our roads have become impassable”.
“If people in our community need to get to places urgently they resort to different other ways to travel.”
However, Wagstaff said he wanted to reiterate people to not risk their lives doing so.
“If people feel in danger they need to raise that up through Auckland Transport or Local Board if they feel like they are not being listened to.”
Wagstaff said the local board was focused on lobbying and trying to get out to address these issues but was “hamstrung” by budgets.
Since the severe weather events of recent months, the ward had communities blocked off in Leigh, Pakiri, Matakana and Warkworth.
“They were isolated in floods with many slips preventing people to get to critical services.”
When asked when the roads were expected to be fixed, Wagstaff said that was a question for Auckland Transport and Auckland Council.
“It could take two years if some budget is allocated in the recovery budget...remembering in that two years they need to also repair roads normally. We need a significantly increased budget to address the damage.”
Wagstaff said he would be open to talk to the McLean family should they need to raise any concerns with him.
Over $23,000 has been raised for the family within a day through the fundraiser.
