Big shock for crash victim

Press, 2 August 1977, Page 2

Big shock for crash victim

PA Dunedin A badly injured Queenstown man dragged himself from the wreckage of his car at the week-end only to receive a strong electric shock. A power line brought down in the crash, near Millers Flat, had fallen on the car. Brent Stephen Matthews, aged 22, a night porter, was in a satisfactory condition in Dunedin Hospital yesterday. Constable J. Pierce, of Roxburgh, described him as “a very lucky man.” “He got a fair bit of electricity through him,” he said. “The soles of his feet were burnt. He was lucky even to survive the

crash, let alone the shock.” Mr Matthews was on his way to Dunedin on Saturday morning to watch the third rugby test match when his car ran off the road and hit a power pole. He struggled with a useless leg to get free of the wreckage but, when his feet hit the ground, he received a shock. Constable Pierce said that Mr Matthews had apparently “picked up” his broken leg and manoeuvred his way out of the wreckage. A passing motorist saw the man and alerted the police. Linesmen were called in to restore power to Millers Flat.