Boat driver badly hurt

Press, 20 September 1982, Page 1

Boat driver badly hurt

Gary Thomson, of Eketahuna. who crashed spectacularly on the final lap of the national Citizen Watch jet boat marathon on . the Waimakariri River on Saturday afternoon, is in a serious condition in the intensivecare ward of Christchurch Hospital last evening.

Thomson "ran out" of water near Courtenay, ploughed through the shingle, and then leapt into more water. When he applied more throttle he realised that a stone was lodged in the steering deflectors and that he had no control. His crewmember, his son. Shane, was thrown out of the boat and in a few seconds the craft, the Komatsu, did a "barrel" roll. It was then that Thomson broke both his thighs. His son rushed to his aid and by that time several other boats had arrived.

Dr Roger Wilkinson, of Christchurch, who was in an official boat, the Tailend Charlie, was quickly on the scene. ■

“When I arrived the various crew members had made him quite comfortable," said Dr Wilkinson.

“We took some paddles from the boats, including a piece of four-by-two, and the men started to hew splints. One of the boat's- had a tomahawk and another a saw, and so we soon had him reasonably comfortable,"

“He was also much easier when I gave him a transfusion." ' The Search and Rescue Organisation immediately informed the police of the accident. However, a helicopter was not available from Wigram air base because of operational duties and the police then tried to get a privately owned helicopter from Culverden. This also failed.

The race organisers and the Search and Rescue Organisation then decided to send a jet boat up the river to pick up Thomson and take him about 500 metres downstream.

"Because the only rough path for an ambulance was on the other side of the river where Thomson had been treated. ■he was taken by-

John Heslop. of Christchurch. 500 metres upstream and then transferred to the ambulance." Dr Wilkinson said. “If the ambulance had been unable to handle the

track we would have taken the patient to the twin bridges by the motorway and winched the boat, with Thomson inside, on to the trailer and takes him direct to a hospital. "No blame can be laid on any organisation for the delay in Thomson's getting to hospital. The area is almost inaccessible by motor-vehicle and under the’ circumstances everybody did a magnificent job."’ Dr ’Wilkinson said.