Elderly couple said their ‘final goodbyes’ while trapped in submerged car
A hero police officer has told of the dramatic rescue of an elderly couple who were trapped in their sinking car and thought they were moments from death.
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An elderly couple feared they were about to drown and said their “final goodbyes” while they were trapped in their sinking car near Creswick.
The Adelaide couple - who were driving from Ballarat to Bendigo - couldn’t get out of their MG sedan that was rapidly filling with freezing water. It had veered off the Midland Highway and into O’Keefes Dam about 11am yesterday.
A 39-year-old Ballarat tradie was driving behind them and called triple- zero before he waded into the water to try and prise the door open - despite being unable to swim.
Leading Senior Constable Simon Barker was just 30 seconds away and was able to join the rescue when he received the call for help.
“I happened to be close by … I pulled up and could see the car was submerged and a civilian was trying to open the door,” he told the Herald Sun from Creswick Police Station.
He took of his vest and gun, and rushed into the water. By the time he got to the car, the drivers door was open and the pair managed to get the male, 82, out of the drivers seat.
His 80-year-old wife was in the passenger seat. They were both trapped by their seatbelts with the water up to their shoulders.
“They were both in a lot of shock. They had said their final goodbyes to each other while they were in the car - they thought their time was up - they thought they were about to die.”
But then help arrived.
“I reached in and pulled him out and took him back to the bank, then went back for the female passenger,” Mr Barker said.
Praise for the passing motorist and police officer who pulled a couple to safety after its car plunged into a dam at Creswick @9NewsMelb @VictoriaPolice pic.twitter.com/yXVRPdtkaH
— Tom Kelly (@tpwkelly) November 7, 2019
“The water was up to chest level by then. It would only have been another 30 seconds to a minute and the car would have be under the water.”
He was able to release the seatbelt before the woman slipped under the water.
The dramatic rescue took barely two minutes and wasn’t much time to think about what was happening because everyone “was in a state of panic at the time”.
Mr Barker said it was just luck he and the other man were there. “Otherwise it would be two fatalities.”
The tradesman, who wished to stay remain anonymous, told how he flung off his boots and launched into the dam.
“As I was working to pull the door open the water was starting to come in a fair bit. The elderly guy was panicking a little bit, fearing for their lives.
“Supernaturally, I heard the door click. I pulled on the door and as soon as I did the water started rushing in. Within 30 seconds to a minute the water was at the ceiling height of the car.”
Mr Barker saw the couple in hospital this morning and they were both very thankful and in good spirits.
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He didn’t believe he was a hero. “It’s something anyone would have done.”
Police are investigating if the accident happened when the driver pulled into the parking bay and hit the accelerator instead of the brake.
A spokeswoman for Ballarat Base Hospital said the couple were both in a satisfactory condition this morning.