A Southland woman who fronted some of the cost of repairing her car after crashing into a runaway herd of cows has had some good news from her insurance company.
Grace Steele, 18, had paid a $1050 excess for the damage to her car in April, but this week learned that the owner of the animals will be covering the cost.
In the crash on April 17, after dark, she hit two beasts, breaking one’s hind legs, on State Highway 94, north of Gore.
Two months later, Ms Steele said she got an email from her insurance company this week saying the owner of the livestock was not liable for the accident as there was "no evidence of negligence".
Despite this, the farmer’s insurance company was covering the excess of her claim, the email said.
Ms Steele suffered from a serious concussion after the crash and was unsure who was paying for the damage to her car when police said they had spoken to the owner of the livestock, and no further action would be taken.
She was still confused as to how the farmer was found "not liable" by insurance, yet paid for the excess — but she was nonetheless happy with the result.
Ms Steele had previously rolled her car in 2023, sustaining a concussion, and the latest one exacerbated her health issues.
In the weeks following the April accident she could not work for a mandatory two weeks, suffered from headaches, could not drive, and in the car, kept her eyes shut due to motion problems.
The hardest of her symptoms was memory loss, which was made worse by her earlier concussion and greatly affected her mental health, she said.
"I was feeling a little bit, definitely sad, because I struggle so much with my memory and my health and everything, so it put me in a bit of shock," she told the paper last month.
"I think it really just topped everything off."
Worst of all were the nightmares.
"I close my eyes and I’m like ‘oh, cow’."
Besides the cost of the damage to her vehicle, Ms Steele was also anticipating the cost of the emotional toll and head trauma.
After the 2023 crash she had received psychotherapy as well as professional help with her memory.
On Friday, she said she was feeling a lot better. She had taken some time off, her memory was on the mend, and she was going away to stay at her parents’ house to further recuperate.
