Hawke's Bay farm worker latest hurt in quad bike crash

A man was flown to Hawke's Bay Hospital yesterday morning after crashing a quad bike on a farm, the latest in a series of similar accidents across New Zealand over the holiday period.

The 50-year-old farm worker was taken to hospital by the Lowe Corporation rescue helicopter with a dislocated shoulder and spinal injuries about 10.15am.

Pilot Charlie Beetham said the man was conscious when the crew arrived at the farm near Te Haroto. "He was just sort of sitting beside a fence when we arrived," Mr Beetham said. "He was obviously in a little bit of pain, but apart from that he was saying and doing all the right things."

He was unsure how the accident occurred, but noted the farm had "quite steep, undulating terrain".

A hospital spokesperson said yesterday evening the man was in a stable condition.

Meanwhile the condition of a 6-year-old girl critically injured in a quad bike crash with four adults at Waimarama has improved, her grandmother says.

Ashlee Shorrock suffered broken ribs, a broken arm, a broken collar bone and was put into an induced coma after the crash on Okaihau Rd shortly before midnight last Wednesday.

Ashlee's maternal grandmother, Nancy Dunnage, said her daughter, Sara, reported good news during a phone call on Sunday. "She didn't say much but she said [Ashlee] is doing okay. I think she had woken up on her own."

The young girl lived with her father but Sara had rushed to her bedside at Starship children's hospital as soon as she heard about the accident.

Ms Dunnage said the whole family was shocked by her injuries.

A Starship spokesman said Ashlee's condition had improved from critical to stable and she was recovering in paediatric intensive care.

Police are trying to establish who was driving the vehicle, and whether drugs and alcohol contributed to the crash.

Ashlee's stepmother, Stephanie Lucas, has claimed she was pressured to take the fall for the crash because she was the only sober adult on board.

Ashlee's father Daniel McGregor and two other men, whose names have not been released, were also on the bike.

Police have taken blood samples from each of the four adults which will be tested for traces of drugs and alcohol.

Senior Sergeant Luke Shadbolt said the types of injuries suffered by people in crashes could often help police determine where they were positioned in a vehicle, and who was driving.