Izaak Cole speaks on GoFundMe for critically injured Nemani Ranuve

The mate of a Rainbow Beach man fighting for life in Royal Brisbane Hospital has recalled precious times as he continues to drive a fundraising campaign to help his friend’s distraught family.

Nemani Ranuve remains in a coma in the Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital after being critically injured when he was struck by a motorbike in Gympie, in the early hours of December 18, 2022.

The roommate of critically injured forest worker Nemani Ranuve has described him as a loveable larrikin as the 20-year-old continues fighting for his life following a horror crash in the lead-up to Christmas.

Rainbow Beach’s Izaak Cole opened up about his roommate for whom he launched a GoFundMe for in the wake of the horrific injuries he sustained in the December 18 crash.

Nemani remains in a coma at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital as a result of the crash, in which he was struck by a motorbike in the early hours of December 18 at Gympie.

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Police said no charges had yet been laid and investigations into the incident were ongoing.

Nemani‘s mother Jill said on Wednesday “we don’t know how long or if he will fully wake”.

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Nemani Ranuve surrounded by friends and family in the main image on the GoFundMe which has raised more than $17,000 for the 20-year-old Rainbow Beach resident and his mother Jill.

Mr Cole met Nemani when they were eight-years-old and went to Tin Can Bay P-10 State School together.

They had been roommates for six months when the crash happened.

Mr Cole said he received the call about the crash at 3am and was asked if he could help drive Ms Ranuve to the hospital.

He did not realise the full extent of Nemani’s injuries until he arrived.

Mr Cole said Nemani was “always talking about his job” with Private Forestry Service Queensland and was “nearly a qualified arborist”.

He had “a lot of great memories … that I probably can’t mention in a newspaper”.

Izaak Cole’s GoFundMe for his roommate Nemani Ranuve has blown past its initial $10,000 goal in the three weeks since it was launched.

Those he could share included drinking beer on the balcony after work “and a hot girl would walk past”.

“Nemani would yell out ‘my friend thinks your hot’ and he’d shut his eyes and mouth so he couldn’t be seen and I’d get strange looks from the girl walking by”.

“Another one was when I was shark fishing in the Noosa river,” Mr Cole said.

“I asked him to swim my bait out and he replied with ‘f--- no, I look like a seal’”.

Mr Cole started the GoFundMe with the aim of helping Nemani’s mother and sister, Jorja, pay their bills while he was in hospital.

Donations have surged past the initial $10,000 goal, now sitting at more than $17,000.

“Hopefully, if he makes it out of the hospital he will have some money for rehab,” Mr Cole said.

The influx of support was not a surprise though; the 20-year-old was beloved by those who knew him.

“He would light up everyone’s day,” Mr Cole said.