Critically injured BU student leaves ICU, makes progress

Boston University student Margaret “Meg” Theriault, who was seriously injured in the New Zealand car crash, is in stable but serious condition, hospital officials said.

Theriault, a School of Management junior, was transferred from the intensive care unit to the high dependency unit at the Waikato Hospital in Aukland Friday.

Doctors removed the breathing tube on May 18, and she has breathed on her own since then, said Mary Anne Gill in the hospital’s statement.

Theriault was critically injured on May 12 in Auckland when a vehicle carrying eight BU students studying abroad rolled over, killing three students and injuring the rest. The four other students injured were released from the hospital shortly after.

Meg’s progress brings some hope to Theriault’s parents, Todd and Deb, who said in the hospital statement that their daughter is a fighter.

“We are so pleased Meg is in a place where there is so much love, care and attention,” they said.

Todd and Deb stated they are impressed with the care their daughter has received from the team at Waikato Hospital.

“There’s a reason we’re here, and we have full faith in the team at Waikato Hospital, who have just been outstanding,” Deb said in the statement. “This public health system is nothing like what we’ve got in the U.S., and when I explain it to my friends back home, they can’t believe it.”

Deb said the accident and continuing recovery is a life-changing experience.

Stephen Houseman, the driver of the vehicle, a junior in the School of Hospitality Administration, faces seven charges of careless driving, said Brian Reid, spokesman for Auckland District Court.

Meg’s parents said they understand the need for a court process and support it.

“We feel their pain, and he [Houseman] now has a journey of recovery much like our daughter does,” Todd and Deb said in a statement after meeting Housman’s parents.