EPISODE 742 Andrew Skeoch…head on collision in New Zealand, 1991

EPISODE 752 Andrew Skeoch…head on collision in New Zealand, 1991

alan skeoch

Feb. 27, 2023

This is the story of a head on collision of two cars near 90 mile beach , North Island, New Zealand.

By pure accident I discovered an undeveloped film that Andrew BRought back from his ‘walkabout’

in New Zealand in 1991. This actually happened. I know it sounds inflated. Subsequent letter

followed the story. So here is the complete picture of a terrible car accident where everyone lived

although it seemed nip and tuck for a couple of the girls who retired a rescue helicopter to get

them to Auckland fast. Other survivors were rushed to hospital by ambulance after waiting for

two hours with their wrecked vehicles.

Let me tell the story in three parts.

PART ONE: THE COLLISION

PART TWO ANDREW REMEMBERS

[ART THREE JOANNE REMEMBERS

EPISODE 7452 Andrew Skeoch…head on collision in New Zealand, 1991

NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE

(Andrew Skeoch and Keith Merker)

ghost written by Alan Skeoch

from interview with Andrew Skeoch

(North Island, New Zealand, winter 1991)

The road was empty. Or, at least it seemed so. Keith was driving and I was in the passenger seat reading.

The two girls were in the back dozing. We had been surfing on 90 mile beach, a vast expanse of hard sand and

foaming waves. Wonderful place. So huge that other cars are few and far between and the hard sand allowed

us to park at the water’s edge. We had a great time.

But that was about to end. Suddenly.

“Car! Coming at us head on.” Keith yelled but probably never finished the sentence. I looked up just in time to see

a white car with two boys coming at us on the wrong side of the road. A blind curve. No time to think or act.

Kaboom! Both cars were welded together and both came to a dead stop in showers and gas and metal fragments.

None of us had seat belts. The moment after I looked up from my book…milliseconds…I flew from my seat right through

the front window. Head first. Something on my head was torn as Ihit the crumpled hood of our car. Blood. Lots of it.

My nose was severed badly and would not stop bleeding. It felt like a flap of meat rather than part of my body.

Initially I was the only person who cold stand, however. Keith’s chest had hit and collapsed the steering wheel while

a stiletto like piece of metal impaled his knee. he was pinned.

The girls? I tried to get the back door open on Jo Anne’s side. Hard to do. Blood pouring down my face. Finally

the door was wrenched open. Jo Anne look like she was dead. A limp body. I placed her on the ground and

tired to revive her but feared the worst. Then her eyes opened but she could not talk. Her jaw was broken dead centre.

But she was alive. The other girl was mobile by then but badly cut in the lower torso. She was stretched out on

the highway beside Jo Anne.

By that time Keith had freed himself and took a look at me. Something had to be done. I was losing so much blood.

So he wound my head and face with tape…looked like a mummy. But the tape stopped the heavy bleeding. Keith

could not walk. He hobbled.

The boys in the other car were in a state of shock. We pulled our camping gear from our car and laid out

what we could right on the road.

No car came. We hoped and prayed but no car. After two hours I decided to try to walk and get help. I was

the least hurt although my bloody clothes looked terrible. And the making tape bandages were sinister looking. Who would stop

to help once they saw me at the side of the road? Just as I started, a car full of tourists came

around the bend. They had phones.

A helicopter arrived in short order with a medic who bandaged us up and loaded both girls aboard for

the flight back to Auckland.

Keith and I had to wait for an ambulance and then faced a miserable six hour drive to the same hospital

in Auckland. My nose was bad. I feared the worst. What would life be like without a nose? The windshield

had lived my nose across he bottom and up the right side. So it was just hanging by he flesh on the left side.

What followed was wise than the accident as far as I was concerned. It was night when we arrived but

there could be no delay so the surgeon began stitching immediately.. Freezing kept the

nostril bridge from hurting but the rest was sheer agony as the doctor had to reach up inside my nostril

to get the stitches to take hold. And there was no freezing up there. This was not a nice experience.

ARCHIE CLARKE: NZ POLICE OFFICER “COME LIVE WITH US BOYS UNTIL YOU RECOVER”

There was, however, a rosy ending. Archie Clarke, the investigating police officer came down to

Auckland with us. He was responsible for policing the Northern Territory so that was some distance

from his home base. As far a the accident was concerned we were in the clear. the other car

was in our lane. Their fault. Some comfort but not much for our car had to be written off and

we had very little money left.

Then a weird thing happened. Archie Clarke volunteered to take us all…two boys and two girls…to his home up

north while we recuperated.

In the end we had a two week all expenses paid vacation with a terrific family who loved and shared

their outdoor life. We even went out hunting for wlld pigs in the wilds of the North Island. I wonder how many police officers in Canada would do that?

Andrew Skeoch (almost verbatim)

April 2018

(The accident happened in 1991)

P>S> Andrew never told us how bad this accident had been. By pure chance I found

these pictures while converting 35 mm slides to digital pictures.

This picture gives a good idea of the impact. Both cars are welded together

like husband and wife. We never really got to know the boys in the white car. They were

in shock. Guess they knew they were also in big trouble. Wrong side of the road. Nobody had been drinking. I say

that just in case you think four males and two girls were violating the liquor laws. Bad

things happen to good people.

The gas tanks were not ruptured. That is cooling fluid on the ground. If fire had started

I don’t know if three of our people would have got out in time. I might have been the

only survivor. Cars explode often in this kind of collision. We were lucky. If you look

closely on the right side, you can see the girls wrapped in sleeping bags awaiting aid.

Notice that Keith Merker can barely stand up. Also this gives a good idea of what it was like the fly through the windshield of our car.

What windshield, you say. Precisely my point. Lucky my nose is not attached to that last remaining glass shard. Notice the bent steering wheel

pushed up against he dashboard by Keith’s chest.

Help arrived. Red car. We had made the girls as comfortable as possible as we

awaited the helicopter.

JOANNE RECALLS THE CAR CRASH AS SHE GETS HER HAW REALIGNED

This is from Joanne the girl lying in the sleeping bag.

Begin forwarded message:

Very sobering read Andy. It really is incredible that we all survived that crash. Thank you for taking such good care of us. I remember struggling to stay conscious, you kept telling me ” dont close your eyes Jo, you mustn’t go back to sleep” and you told Claire to make sure I didn’t.

There was another girl in the car with those boys who came in the helicopter with me. Claire went in the ambulance with you and Keith to Kaitaia hospital.

It was on the 6th of Dec so we stayed at Fran and Archie’s for ages, we left after Christmas just before new year as their son drove us to Auckland where he was going to a party! So so good of them to out us up like that.

Oh remember we had that amazing smoked fish, what was it, a snapper, trout or something?

How is your nose? I cringed at that bit of the story!! I am surprised Keith didn’t break any of his ribs, good job the steering wheel gave way instead.

Claire still has trouble with her legs. She walked some of the Sacramento way last year and couldn’t walk for a while after she got home.

I had to have my jaw rebroken a few years ago to realign my bite it wasn’t successful first time so they had to break it again and still its not great but my bite is much better. My nerves got damaged though so I can’t feel my chin or lower lip but my girls help to point out when I’ve got food on my face!!

I dug out a few pics I’ve got for you.

We should arrange a chat on skpe tog with Claire and keith sometime. Does Keith live close by to you? Claire and i live just a few mins away from each other.

Take care x

December 2020 – Alan Skeoch

Leave a Reply Cancel reply