A child’s escape when a tree crashes into the roof of a motorhome near Kingston

A decision made just minutes before a tree smashed into the roof of a trailer near Kingston early yesterday saved a 6-year-old from being crushed.

Justin Wealleans said he, his wife Ine, and their children Niko, 6, and Casey, 4, of Christchurch, were spending the night in the rental vehicle at a lakeside reservation north of Kingston when the tree fell. during the violent winds around 2 am

Earlier, unable to sleep from the noise, he and his wife had gotten out of bed and were sitting in the front of the vehicle, debating whether to move to a more protected position, Justin Wealleans said.

“It was packed, it felt like the truck was about to be picked up and overturned.”

A couple of minutes after getting Niko off his bunk and back in the driver’s seat, he got up again.

“The tree then fell and crashed into the seat, seconds after I moved.

“If we hadn’t gotten our son off the top bunk, he would have hit him too.”

Fortunately, the top bunk didn’t collapse enough to endanger Casey, who was sleeping downstairs.

Wealleans said he forced the door open and knocked on the door of another caravan, from where he called police.

“The wind was so strong we could barely walk, trees and branches were falling and gravel was flying and crashing against everything.

“The sound from the lake was incredible, the noise was so loud you could hardly hear yourself speaking.”

Four days after a 10-day trip to the South Island, the family had traveled from Te Anau the day before, joining a dozen other motorhomes in the reserve.

Police took the family to Queenstown, where they checked into a hotel.

“I haven’t slept, I was so nervous.

“I was laying there having visions of what would have happened if I hadn’t picked up Niko, or if he had been sitting in that seat for two more seconds.”

The rental company delivered a replacement vehicle yesterday and the Wealleans family intended to resume their journey today.

“I think we will take our time and not park under any trees.”

Hurricane force winds also hit part of the Queenstown suburb of Frankton, ripping off roofs from houses and sheds, blowing out windows, damaging fences and knocking down trees and branches.

Robertson St resident John Hamilton said he was awakened by a loud roar shortly before 2 a.m.

“My first thought was ‘why does a plane take off at this time in the morning and why is it outside my window?'”

His house and his neighbors on each side appeared to have suffered the worst damage.
Part of the roof and gutters blew up, the chimney collapsed, and four windows blew out.

The roof of his double garage was completely gone and debris damaged two vehicles inside.

His catamaran shot out of his trailer and flipped upside down, breaking a fence in the process, while a large tree was uprooted on the edge of the road next to his house.

Hamilton said he was grateful for the help of volunteer firefighters from the Frankton and Queenstown brigades, who arrived quickly and spent three hours helping him and others in the neighborhood secure loose items.

Hamilton’s neighbor, Jo Reid, said the corner of her roof was blown off, three windows blown out and her shed “smashed.”

His yard was littered with roof insulation, broken glass, roofing nails, branches, and metal and wood debris.

In nearby Alta Pl, resident Hudson Turnbull said his neighbor saw what appeared to be a “mini tornado” struck around 1.45 am, coming from the direction of Lake Wakatipu, a few hundred meters away.

The fence on three sides of his property was damaged in “seconds.”

New Zealand Fire and Emergencies Southern Fire Communications Center shift manager Brent Dunn said firefighters helped residents secure loose roofing iron and other debris in the area, and removed a tree that fell on a parked vehicle on Riverside Rd.

A roll-up door was blown off at the Maui RV rental depot on Lucas Pl, damaging the vehicles inside, Dunn said.

The strongest 83km / h wind gust was recorded at Queenstown Airport around 4am.