Hollie Snell rescuer: 'She had all the right people ... to ensure she had the best chance at surviving'

Karl Alsop was the first on the scene to help Hollie Snell after a two-car fatal crash that almost took her life. Photo / Stephen Parker

People across the country have been praying for the full recovery of teen crash victim Hollie Snell but one man, Karl Alsop, has hoped longer than anyone that she would survive.

Alsop, a Rotorua man, was one of the first people on the scene of the November 18 fatal crash that Hollie, now 17, was critically injured in.

Alsop worked tirelessly to keep Hollie alive until emergency services arrived.

Now, after a miraculous recovery, Hollie has returned to her Te Puke home after two months recovering in hospital and a rehabilitation clinic and is able to walk and talk again.

Speaking out for the first time, Alsop told the Rotorua Daily Post he remembered driving around the corner and witnessing chaos - one car with the engine lying in the middle of the road and the other off to the side in a bush.

Alsop had almost three years' practice with St John's and used his medical training to assess everyone.

"I saw that Hollie was quite young. I thought we could do something for her."

Karl Alsop was the first to find the crash which almost stole Hollie Snell's life in November last year. Photo / File

Alsop said her situation was getting worse and it became a matter of fighting to keep her airways clear.

"My thought with her was, if this was my daughter, I would want someone to keep her alive until I could say goodbye.

"Basically what my thoughts were at the time was, she has got a family that will want to say goodbye before she passes on. So I thought right, I've got to do my best for them."

He said relief came over him when he saw the ambulance show up.

The road was closed near Okere Falls due to the car crash in November. Photo / File

The ambulance took Hollie to Rotorua Hospital where a helicopter was waiting to transport her to Waikato Hospital.

"The doctor that came down on the helicopter ... is the head medical director of St John's, so she had the perfect person to be there and get her through to Waikato."

Alsop is blown away that Hollie had all the right people there, at the right time, to ensure she had the best chance at surviving.

What's more, Alsop travels the road through Ōkere Falls once a month, that hour, on Sunday mornings.

He feels like he was destined to be there when Hollie needed him.

Cars waited while emergency services cleared the scene. Photo / File

Despite Alsop's efforts at the scene, Hollie suffered serious head injuries that her family was told she would not survive.

Due to Hollie's wishes, the family spent the first week preparing to donate her organs but after day 12 in hospital Hollie was taken off life support and moved to the high dependency unit.

Hollie continued to improve and after 23 days in hospital, she had reached level two of the recovery stages of critical brain injuries and moved to the neuro ward.

Shortly before Christmas, Hollie was transferred to a rehabilitation centre in Auckland and after 50 days she was up walking and talking.

"[At first] I was thinking, life support, okay, at least I got her to where she was but then to read the ongoing story!"

Alsop thinks of that day often, and the other woman who was not as lucky as Hollie.

He said he battled internal conflicts about who to help at the time but in the end he didn't feel he could do enough to save the other victim.

"There is a conflict going back to the other lady which, even though I know I have made the right decision, it is a hard one to live with."

But Alsop said he was pleased, that due to pure luck, he was there to help Hollie.

"I'm glad I was there, to make that difference, so that she's got another chance at life and the family haven't lost their child.

"I am just happy that they have their daughter and sister back. I'm glad that I could do something to help somebody else."

Alsop has been in contact with Hollie's mum, Dale Snell, and is working to meet the family soon.

"I just would like to wish her all the best and I just want her to live her life to the fullest.

"Make sure you take all the opportunities, enjoy your life and tell your family you love the everyday because it could be the last time."

Hollie's sister Larnie Woodward said Hollie was doing well and had an intense recovery programme at home to keep her busy.

Hollie Snell was not expected to survive severe head injuries after a car crash but her family says the teen continues her astonishing fightback.

"She's just left with post traumatic amnesia which has affected her long and short-term memory.

"However, this is expected to improve over time with the help of her at home rehabilitation programme. She remembers people and most things from before the accident."

Woodward said it was hard to know what to say to Alsop, but knew he was a deeply caring person to have kept Hollie in his thoughts all this time.

"How do you say thank you to someone who saved your sister's life when thank you just isn't enough.

"The whole thing feels surreal now that Hollie is on the mend, it's hard to comprehend what he must have gone through that morning when it all seems like a distant bad dream."