According to NZME, the 19-year-old actor who starred in the movie Boy is stable and is recovering in the Intensive Care Unit at Waikato Hospital following a crash on July 26.
The young star, who was driving the car when the accident happened, hit a bridge, on the eastern side of Opotiki with such impact that emergency services were forced to shut down the road for an hour to clear the wreckage.
A volunteer firefighter told NZME. “half the bridge” ended up in the car and described the crash site as a “total mess”.
Firefighters at the scene report they had to cut James from the wreck, and said he’d suffered “horrendous injuries”. He was stabilised by a paramedic on the scene before being airlifted to Tauranga Hospital in a critical condition.
His friend Kaleb Maxell, 19, was also with James in the car when the crash happened.
Kaleb, has been discharged from hospital and is now recovering at home.
His father, Craig Maxwell told NZME his son had suffered bruised lungs and his chest had been punctured. “He has a sore clavicle, four fractured vertebrae in his back and neck and lacerations in his kidney.”
“It’s a terrible situation where both boys have their lives ahead of them and this happens” he told NZME.
Kaleb, who’d shown promising form as an all-round rugby player, and been identified as an up-and-coming talent for the Bay of Plenty Under-19 team, now faces months of challenging rehabilitation.
Despite his rise to fame at such an young age, James Rolleston has remained grounded and humble, attributes instilled in him by his grandmother, Nana Christina.
The successful actor, who made his name for his stellar performance in the Taika Waititi hit Boy went on to feature in Dark Horse, The Dead Lands. His most recent film credits include a starring role in the film adaptation of the Eleanor Catton novel The Rehearsal.
