Praises sung for police, emergency services following Kempsey flood rescue

A 72-year-old woman is lucky to be alive after her SUV was swept away in flood waters. Now she’s baking her rescuers a cake to say thank you.

A 72-year-old woman is lucky to be alive after her SUV was swept away in flood waters – now she’s baking her rescuers a cake to say thank you.

The woman found herself trapped on a flooded rural causeway, 15km north of Kempsey, on Wednesday afternoon with a terrified husband watching the scene unfold from land.

Constable Daniel Tulk, Senior Constable Camilla Douglass, Senior Constable Noeleen Little, Senior Constable Steven Jeffrey and Sergeant Brad Smith. Absent: Senior Constable Christine Morgan.

Fearing for her life in the chest-deep water, and unable to get out of the car after it had become wedged against a line of trees, she called triple-0 for help.

Senior Constable Noeleen Little, Senior Constable Camilla Douglass, Senior Constable Steven Jeffrey, Senior Constable Christine Morgan and Constable Daniel Tulk from the Mid North Coast Police District were first on scene, setting up a winch cable as a safety line.

The 72-year-old woman became trapped inside her car just before 2pm on Wednesday.

It was anchored by a police 4WD and attached to Sergeant Brad Smith, who entered the flood waters and made his way to the semi-submerged vehicle.

He was able to reach the sole occupant, by which the point water has risen to neck-height inside vehicle.

“There was a need to go in, and go in immediately,” Sgt Smith said.

He wasn’t able to break the window to free the woman but, thanks to some quick thinking and help from his fellow officers, the team were able to reassess the situation and work together to bring her back to safety.

“We just had to go through our other possibilities to get her out of the vehicle, since the window wasn’t an option,” Sgt Smith said.

“So we made access through the doorway.”

Police then drove the local woman to Kempsey Hospital where she was treated for hypothermia and exhaustion, a remarkable result after being trapped for an estimated 45 minutes.

Police assisted the woman out of her vehicle and back to safety.

“She was in quite a bit of shock, you can tell it was a situation that had really caused her quite some distress,” Sgt Smith said.

Local police are taking the opportunity to remind everyone on the Mid North Coast of the famous words of advice: if it’s flooded, forget it.

“Heed warnings, especially from the SES, and never drive through flood water,” Sgt Smith said.

But this wasn’t Sgt Smith’s first time risking his life in wild weather to save others, according to Kempsey’s Inspector Vince Nicholls.

“He was recognised with an award for his efforts in the 2016 Dungog floods,” Insp Nicholls said.

“He was able to use a wheelie bin to travel through flood waters to rescue people from a grandstand.

“I’m very proud of all of the officers involved with this rescue, and they couldn’t have had a more suitable person leading them through it, given the Sargent’s experience in the floods.

“It’s extremely important for emergency services to respond quickly to these jobs, since they can change in a matter of minutes.”