"Not too bad, considering," she said when asked about her injuries. "The Kardashians pay big money for [swollen] lips like these."
Watching as the digger lifted his boat out of the gully, Coley could only glance up at the broken branches to see just how high his boat had flown while inverted.
"When you look at it like that, it was a bit disappointing we didn't get up a bit more," he shrugged. "We barrel-rolled through.
"To be fair, I was thinking 'where are we going?' because you don't know what's down there.
"We will be racing the next round. We've got a new hull, we will be back."
Having covered the sport across Australasia and North America, veteran Aussie commentator Tim "Caveman" Barrot could recall only one spill which got close to Coley's, which happened at an Australian series event in New South Wales.
"It was 75m from where he landed. But [unlike Coley] he didn't cut a path going through trees and scrub and bush.
"To land it in the bush is phenomenal. We've got possums in Australia too, but if he wants to be a koala - it's gum trees, not pine trees. It's the biggest jet sprinting crash in the sport, and we didn't even see half of it."
All racers spoken to about the accident emphasised that the safety features of the boats worked and the crew was able to walk away.
Shelterview spokeswoman Julia Murray said the finishing line may be moved back a few metres from the turning bay to give drivers time to slow.
"The superboats are going too fast now. There's too much power.
"That's what Shelterview will look at - we always assess."
Kellie Minnell's husband and expat Whanganui driver Leighton Minnell, who has built his own course in Waitara, said while he loves his home Shelterview track, turning bays and spin-out pools are now outdated as they have not got bigger while Superboats only keep getting faster.
"When something goes wrong, it goes very bad. There will be a decision made."
Despite the shock of his wife's accident, Minnell had to refocus and go out and compete against Hamilton's Glen Head and multiple time champion Peter Caughey for the Top 3 final, ultimately finishing third with a 46.286s lap.
"We went and did it for her," he said. "It was a hell of a shock, one I haven't had the situation to be in [before]. She's battered and bruised, but she's a true racer."
Caughey, who had his own big crash at Meremere two weeks ago, set down an outstanding 44.865s lap in the final, using Coley's accident as a mental reminder not to try and take tight lines, while Head could not match him and had to settle for runner-up with 45.549s.
"People could see I was pretty cautious, for me and of course for Shama [Putaranui]," Caughey said, regarding his navigator.
He praised his crew and supporters who fixed the boat after the Meremere smash, working around the clock from December 14 to be ready, while he had to heal black eyes and bruises and head to Whanganui without a chance to water test.
"The 10 days, the help that came our way was sensational."
Whanganui's Richard Murray also made the Top 5 eliminator and broke into the 46s mark during the qualifiers, but had a DNF in the Top 5.
Head, with a victory and runner-up placing still leads the series, with Minnell in second place overall after his third on Sunday followed being the runner-up at Meremere.
Caughey, now back in the running, is also looking forward to a high intensity 2016 with the world series in January, followed by the last four rounds of the nationals including the new Waitara track in February and the return of the Whanganui night racing round in April.
-Footage from the Coley crash was captured by a TV One crew and is available on the TVNZ website. Click here for the link
