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Pavel Kravtsov and his two children, Ilaria and Ivan, were left critically injured after the car they were travelling in collided with a truck.
When Ivan Kravtsov saw his uncle for the first time after the car he was travelling in collided with an oyster truck, he told him: “I saw my own flesh”.
On Wednesday night, Pavel Kravtsov was driving his two children, 11-year-old Ivan and 8-year-old Ilaria, home from gymnastics when they crashed into a truck travelling in the opposite direction.
Fire and Emergency crews worked to free the trio from the wreckage for over an hour.
Now, five days after the crash in Kaipara Flat in north Auckland, Pavel’s brother, Vasily Kravstov, has described the impact the “terrible, tragic” crash has had on the family.
Speaking from Auckland City Hospital where Pavel had only just regained consciousness, Vasily told Stuff that Ivan and Ilaria are his brother’s “whole world”.
Although he was in the process of separating from his ex-wife, Julia, Pavel shared custody of the children.
“They were his top priority, always,” Vasily said.
On the night of the crash, Ilaria was sitting in the front seat of the car with her dad while Ivan was in the back.
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Pavel Kravtsov, 56, regained consciousness for the first time on Sunday afternoon.
“We still don’t know what happened, but coming out of one of the curves of the windy road, they collided with the truck.”
Police took Julia to the scene of the crash – just 3km away from her home – while they were still working to free the trio from the wreckage.
“Their mother has been with them constantly for the past five days.
“She arrived at the scene of the accident still in her work uniform, and has barely left their sides since,” Vasily said.
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Vasily’s children, Sasha and Yuri (left) went to visit their cousins Ivan and Ilaria (right) at Starship Hospital the day after the crash.
Once out of the car, Ilaria was helicoptered to Starship Hospital, while Pavel and Ivan were taken via road.
Ivan went into surgery first, with open fractures in his leg putting him at the greatest risk of infection.
“Because Pavel and Ilaria were in the front, they had airbags to protect them, but Ivan didn’t have that.
“His leg was broken, his shoulder was broken, he had a fracture in his spine, he had dents in his skull.”
Ivan told Vasily he had seen his “own flesh” through the open wound on his right leg.
Meanwhile, Ilaria’s teeth had been forced into her jaw bone from the impact of the crash, leaving her with a hole above her chin.
Both of her legs were fractured and one of her wrists was broken.
Ivan and Ilaria have been able to talk to their uncle since the crash, but remain under the influence of strong painkillers.
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Vesily Kravtsov (left, standing) has gone to see his brother Pavel (right, standing) and his two children, Ilaria and Ivan (middle, standing) every day since the crash.
“We’ve watched some cartoons and read some stories.
“They can’t sit up yet because of their injuries but everyday they’re more active and more engaged.”
Pavel, however, didn’t regain consciousness again until Sunday afternoon.
The 56-year-old IT administrator had been put onto a ventilator on Wednesday night, having suffered a punctured lung, broken ribs, broken legs and a broken kneecap.
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Pavel, Ivan and Ilaria are all now in stable conditions, but face a “long road to recovery”.
Pavel’s friends who sing in the local church choir sang for him when he came to.
“He really enjoyed it. He asked them to sing again and again,” Vasily said.
Pavel moved to New Zealand in 2000 from Russia, having been offered a job. His brother and mother followed afterwards.
Police previously said inquiries into the circumstances of the crash were underway.
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