Ferry crash skipper remains in hospital with severe spinal injuries

A boat skipper broke his neck and later suffered a heart attack after his ferry collided with a pleasure boat in the Bay of Islands, it’s been revealed, while his family have spoken out to say how buoyed he’s been by messages of support.

The skipper, 77-year-old Bill Elliott, is being treated at Middlemore Hospital’s spinal unit in Auckland after the crash on April 13, just minutes after the ferry had departed Russell on its regular run to Paihia.

The port side and wheelhouse of the wooden ferry, officially the Waitere but better known as the Blue Ferry, disintegrated on impact.

The well-known, experienced and respected Elliott bore the brunt of the impact.

He was airlifted to Middlemore Hospital by a Northland Rescue Helicopter.

Remarkably, given the severity of the damage and the fact the ferry was packed with school holiday visitors, no one else was injured.

The ferry sank about two hours later.

Now, new details about Elliott’s injuries have been revealed in a post the family made online.

"Yesterday we received a pile of cars, letters and gifts," the post on ‘The Paihia Noticeboard’ Facebook page read.

"As we read letters to Dad and showed him gifts, he lit up and really laughed for the first time since the accident.

"Dad was so thankful and blown away by the kindness people have shown him. He couldn’t believe the nice words people had to say!"

The family also gave a health update, saying they are "continuing to take each day as it comes".

"Dad is now in the spinal unit at Middlemore Hospital with severe spinal damage following a break in his neck and is also recovering from a heart attack suffered after the accident," they said.

"Thank you again for your ongoing support and prayers for Bill."

Ferry passengers included Robyn Bregmen of Raglan, who was heading to Paihia with her husband and two grandsons, aged three and seven. It was the boys’ first time on a ferry.

"About five minutes out, we saw this boat coming full speed towards us. We thought, ‘Surely he’s not going to hit us. He’ll slow down or turn away’," she said.

"Next minute, he hit us at full speed. It was a hell of a bang. I grabbed the boys. I thought we were going to sink. People sitting at the front were thrown in the water."

A scramble for life jackets ensued. No one knew where to find them, but there were plenty of life rings.

Bregmen’s husband went to check the skipper — the launch hit where he had been sitting — and turn the motor off.

"A few people were with him. He wasn’t in a good way."

Rich De Rosa, owner of Flying Kiwi Parasail, was among the rescuers.

He didn’t see the collision, but moments later saw the ferry wasn’t in the channel and its sign was on an angle.

Assuming it was in trouble, he went to help.

"When we got closer, we could see the side of the ferry was crushed. You could see into the engine room. It was a complete T-bone impact on the port side."

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) earlier appealed for witnesses who saw, photographed or videoed the collision.

Chief investigator Naveen Kozhuppakalam said he was keen to hear from people on either vessel who saw the accident or saw the boats any time beforehand.