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Possum Bourne critically injured in road crash

This will probably only be of importance to NZ and Australian members, but is of significance nonetheless.

From http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0...-23770,00.html

Quote:

TOP New Zealand rally driver Possum Bourne is fighting for his life today after a head on crash, television reported.

Bourne was driving over a mountain course near Queenstown when he was involved in a head-on collision with another car, Television New Zealand said.

The actual rally is to be held tomorrow but Bourne was checking the course in his private vehicle when the accident happened.

Television Three said he was flown by air ambulance to Dunedin Hospital, unconscious and in a critical condition.

Possum is something of a legend here - he's won 7 (yes, seven) straight Australian rally titles in varying Subaru models.

More recent updates from http://www.subaru.com.au/news/?newsid=11772

Quote:

Issued at 1020 AEST, Saturday 19 April, 2003: Subaru Rally Team Australia driver Possum Bourne this morning remains in a critical but stable condition with head injuries in the Intensive Care Unit of Dunedin Hospital after yesterday’s car crash near Queenstown, on New Zealand’s south island.

Bourne, the seven-times consecutive Australian Rally Champion, was checking out the course of this weekend’s Silverstone Race to the Sky when the accident occurred.

It reportedly happened on the Waiorau Snowfarm Road, near the Cardrona ski fields, when Bourne’s passenger car was in a collision with another vehicle. Bourne was not driving a rally car.

The driver of the other car, reported to be a fellow competitor, suffered a broken leg.

Both were airlifted to Dunedin Hospital.

Further bulletins will be issued as confirmed information becomes available.

Quote:

Issued at 1340 AEST, Saturday 19 April, 2003: Dunedin Hospital has this afternoon confirmed that Subaru Rally Team Australia driver Possum Bourne has head and leg injuries.

He is currently in theatre undergoing orthopaedic procedures and staff at the hospital are doing everything they can to facilitate the best possible recovery.

Possum’s family wish to acknowledge the support they are receiving as they and the whole team at Possum Bourne Motor Sports pull together.

Messages can be left at the website www.possumpwrc.co.nz on the message board, or faxed to New Zealand 09 238 5737. (From Australia: 0011 64 9 238 5737).

As previously reported Bourne’s condition is described as critical in the Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, following yesterday’s car crash near Queenstown, on New Zealand’s south island.

Further bulletins will be issued as confirmed information becomes available.

Yes, i saw this on the AUS PS2 Forum, it's a shame for Australian rally that such a great driver has been injured...I hope he makes it alive and fully recovers.

I saw some footage - looks like Possum's GT Forester got cleaned up by a competitor who was on the wrong side of the road.

Reports are that he's been reclassified as serious but stable, and in a drug induced coma.

He went from critical to serious overnight

Police might be charging the competitor that hit him. The charges go from a $20,000 fine or 6mths in jail and loss of license for 12 mths, but I doubt his penalties will be that hard

Yeah - reports this morning were that they'd done work to stabilise his legs with pins overnight, whiich I'd take to be a good sign for survival.

Dammit, the ten news just said they got breaking news that unfortunately doctors decided to turn off the life support of Possum Bourne. :( :( :( A sad day for Australian Motorsport. :( :( :(

Yep, they turned the life support off and he didnt stabilise, so they turned it back on, then the family decided to turn it off.

:(.

That's a shame. Another one of club rallying's stalwarts gone.

http://xtramsn.co.nz/news/0,,3882-2322501,00.html

Police say they were traveling at 60km/h, but I doubt that.

Yeah, I dont think that kind of damage would be inflicted when a Forester meets a Grand Cherokke at under 60 kays.
****ing SUVs :(

Quote:

Originally posted by Cobraboy
http://xtramsn.co.nz/news/0,,3882-2322501,00.html

Police say they were traveling at 60km/h, but I doubt that.

I'm, frankly, devastated. I was fortunate enough to see Possum live a couple of times and he certainly seemed to be operating at a different level to all the other Australian competitors.

This seems a sadly ironic closure - Possum first made his name with Dr Roger Freeth as co-driver, who was tragically killed in an accident with Bourne at Rally Australia in '95. Possum found it very hard to move on from that,

Cobrayboy - you (and probably a lot of others here) would probably be surprised at just how much damage is caused in a head-on accident where both vehicles are doing 60kmh - you're effectively dealing with the forces of a single car 120kmh accident.

As an example - here is a Forester in a 40mph/64kmh frontal impact test. For information, the bottom vehicle is an Isuzu Amigo - which I think everone else knows as a Frontera.

http://www.cnn.com/US/9811/10/mini.suvs/crash.jpg

Now - this is a static test - imagine if the object it ran into weighed 1800kg, was taller than the Forester, and was doing 60kmh.

This is how people die on suburban roads - if you have an older car, it's more than likely that in the accident shown above you would be seriously injured, and it's probable you would be killed if the object you hit was a car coming in the other direction at 60kmh.

This highlights one of the fallacies of road safety campaigns. A lot of people seem to think you're safe from injury and death if you drive at the speed limit - you're not.

Yes, when Possum's co-driver died he had his number plate changed to commemorate his death...and now Possum himself is gone...:(

60 km/h doesn't seem like much when you're in a car, but if you're watching a car going at 60 km/h it seems fast.

Just to clarify...

This is the situation as of yesterday - this is one of those times you feel awful for the family, it's just a dreadful limbo time where you can't really start grieving - you just want it over, but you feel guilty because there's only one way to for things to come to a conclusion.

From www.nzherald.co.nz

Brain scan reveals Bourne's survival chances 'virtually nil'

29.04.2003

Quote:

Critically ill rally driver Possum Bourne was yesterday taken off full life support at Dunedin Hospital.

His family and close friends were remaining by his bedside last night after being told that his chances of surviving his Easter car crash were "virtually nil".

Bourne's family said the injuries were more severe than originally thought, and it was not in his best interests to continue full life support.

"The extent and severity of the injury was not fully apparent until the weekend just gone, when ventilation support was decreased, but he deteriorated and had to go back on to full support," a family statement said.

A brain scan yesterday confirmed the seriousness of Bourne's injuries, and on medical advice, life support would be progressively reduced.

"It was a very difficult decision for everyone, but in the end it is in the interests of Possum," said a close friend of the driver, Murray Brown.

"He hasn't been alone the whole time he's been in hospital and he certainly won't be now. We're all just numb. His chance of survival is virtually nil."

Bourne has been in a drug-induced coma in hospital since the Good Friday collision.

He had been driving down a public road on a central Otago mountain range checking a hillclimb race route, when his Subaru stationwagon and a Jeep Cherokee driven by a fellow competitor collided. Heavy dust is thought to have been a factor.

Rescuers took more than an hour to cut him free as his distraught wife, Peggy, looked on.

Bourne, based in Pukekohe and New Zealand's only professional rally driver, has two sons, Taylor and Spencer, and a daughter, Jazlin.

He has won the Asia Pacific championship three times, and the Australian championship for the past seven years.

He was christened Peter but earned his nickname after damaging his mother's car as a teenager while avoiding a possum.

Almost 10 years ago Bourne's co-driver, Rodger Freeth, was killed when they crashed out of Rally Australia. In 2001, he said: "If I'd given up or if I hadn't seen it through, he would have died for nothing."

Prominent rally driver Neil Allport said he had not realised Bourne's condition was so grave.

"My thoughts are with Peggy. I just never thought things would get as bad as they obviously have."

Bourne's crash came just as the popular driver achieved his ambition to drive on the world rally circuit.

He has been loyal to Subaru for two decades, and this year the Japanese manufacturer repaid him by backing his campaign to compete in the world production car championship.

It was a belated reward for a driver who had frequently taken on the world's best in NZ and Australia in inferior machinery and usually outperformed many of them.

news said yesterday that they turned off his life support...

Quote:

Originally posted by Auto__1
news said yesterday that they turned off his life support...

I believe they did - and he deteriorated. They turned it back on, and ran the brain scan, finding the severe brain injury. With head trauma, it's very difficult to make an initial assessment on the extent of a brain injury because of the brain swelling, so it will often take a week or so to determine the severity. The decision has been taken to reduce his life support gradually over the coming days, over which it is anticipated that he will, given the brain injury, unfortunately die.

i just hope we dont lose any more of the motorsport fraternity this year :(
three is just to many, and in a short time as well

R.I.P Possum

Yeah - Katoh, Possum - and think how close we came to losing Mario Andretti last week....

Thats the second motorsportsman lost in a year for NZ, along with Ashley Stichbury, who would have made the V8 Supercars.

When theres a head-on, the enery is four times the amount (I cant remember what) where most people think its two.
Anyway, I think the Jeep went over his car into the windscreen as there was a crest where they crashed, so that might have contributed to his severe injuries

Mmm...I have a nasty feeling Possum wasn't wearing a seatbelt - the severe head, chest and leg injuries aren't consistent with a belt wearing driver hitting an airbag. I really hope I'm wrong, but the Forester's crash rating is pretty good.

I saw footage and the Forester didn't look as badly smashed as your comments suggest, HRT_Maloo - there didn't appear to be much deformation to the passenger compartment.

I think you're right on the forces - isn't it 'squares' rather than 'doubles'?

From www.subaru.com.au

April 29, 2003
Possum Bourne Update – Tuesday

Issued at 1415 AEST, Tuesday 29 April, 2003: The following statement has been issued today by Murray Brown, general manager of Possum Bourne Motorsport, on behalf of the Bourne family:

Peggy and Possum's family remain by Possum's bedside in Dunedin Hospital.

Possum has now been removed from all life support equipment but is getting the best possible care from the hospital staff.

The family continues to take strength from Possum's courage to the end, as well as the messages of support from throughout New Zealand, Australia and around the world.

No further statements will be made until there is a significant change in Possum's condition.