It’s been six weeks since a car ploughed through the glass doors of Rotorua’s Urbano Bistro restaurant, seriously injuring Rotorua woman Sian Hapgood.

The crash has been bittersweet for the restaurant’s owners, Mark and Jane Solon. Kelly Makiha reports.

Mark and Jane Solon’s precious business, not long bought from their mentors, was in ruins.

Glass was everywhere, a foundation wall was smashed, parts of the building were buckled and flooring and furniture was destroyed. The damage was so immense, it was not known if it was financially worth opening again.

A car driven by someone police say had a medical event, lost control on Fenton St in Rotorua, crossed a median island, hit another car and a pole and smashed through Urbano Bistro.

The car that crashed through Urbano Bistro.

It was about 6pm on Friday, March 15. Sian Habgood was enjoying a dinner out with her husband, Jethro, when she looked up and saw the car hurtling towards her.

She stood and ran but the car collected her from behind and threw her 7m across the room and into a wall.

It was amazing she survived. But the Rotorua mother suffered serious injuries all over her body, she’s still unable to walk properly and her recovery will be long.

The Solons, meanwhile, had only taken over the award-winning restaurant less than six months earlier, buying it from long-time Rotorua hospitality icons Richard and Julie Sewell.

Mark Solon tells the Rotorua Daily Post this week he had been the restaurant’s chef since January 2013 under Richard Sewell’s guidance and still considers himself Sewell’s “apprentice”. With the Sewells remaining owners of the building, they still have a stake in the business.

Mark says it's not just the financial impact, there's also the emotional consideration of the staff who were working the night of the crash and witnessed the horror of Sian’s pain.

The night a car crashed through Urbano Bistro, seriously injuring Sian Habgood. Photo / Andrew Warner.

Urbano’s fate rested with insurance assessors who concluded the building could be fixed and the restaurant reopened.

Mark Solon says the builders and painters set to work and it's now renovated, upgraded and modernised.

“It is so sad what happened but I guess happy in a way as it’s better now the restaurant has a new face.”

He says his 11 staff members have had a fully paid five-week break - although some pitched in and helped with the interior painting - and are refreshed and ready to work again.

Urbano reopened on Monday and Marks says they are “eager” to welcome customers back.

Sian’s slow road to recovery

Life for Sian has changed dramatically since the crash.

She has gone from being a busy working mother of three children under 11 - including a high-needs autistic son aged 6 - to still being unable to walk properly and do a lot of things.

The crash impacted her entire body. She had a broken pelvis, lacerated spleen, broken knee, broken finger and torn ankle ligaments.

Sian Habgood was thrown 7m across Urbano Bistro's floor when a car smashed through the restaurant's window. Photo / Andrew Warner.

Her legs and back were also covered in deep bruises, she had a nasty head gash, was peppered in cuts and broken glass was still being plucked from her body in the days following.

Her finger was the most serious of the breaks and requires surgery and ongoing rehabilitation to get it working again. Her internal injuries are still incredibly painful and she can't bend her knee.

“It’s a slow process ... I can’t really walk yet. Well, I can for a wee bit without crutches but then I get tired. I think it’s going to take a while to get there.”

She says a district nurse visits each week to change her dressings and she has several appointments with doctors, physiotherapists, specialists and for scans.

Despite the discomfort, Sian tries to remain positive.“It’s pretty frustrating … but I will get there. It’s good I’m getting better but it’s still difficult to do anything and I get tired just from folding the laundry.”

Emotionally, she's taking her recovery in stages but one day she hopes to go back to Urbano Bistro and enjoy a meal.

“We did a drive-by the other day and saw they were renovating and replacing the window. I managed to get through that part of just driving past. I’m just not quite sure when I could go back inside.”

A Givealittle page for Sian and her family has been set up to help with the ongoing costs of her not being able to work.

Police initially told the Rotorua Daily Post it appears the crash was a result of a driver suffering a medical event. They later confirmed the investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing and no one has been charged.

-Rotorua Daily Post.