Haylee a hero in beach rescue of surfer

PRIDE of Australia medal contender Haylee Carroll saved her boyfriend’s life and possibly his mobility with her quick response to his spinal injury at a Victorian beach.

Haylee Carroll saved her stricken boyfriend Lochie Donne when he broke his neck in a surfing fall at 13th Beach. He has defied medical reckoning and is back playing football. Haylee's heroics have seen her nominated in Pride of Australia awards.

LOCHIE Donne was close to drowning at 13th Beach near Barwon Heads by the time girlfriend Haylee Carroll reached him.

A brutal dump from his surfboard into a sandbar had left him with a broken neck and arms, and limp legs.

Family members and medical experts credit Ms Carroll with saving Mr Donne’s life.

Her cool-in-a-crisis response also likely saved him from a life in a wheelchair.

Mr Donne, a TAC Cup footballer, dislocated his third, fourth and sixth vertebrae and shattered his fifth vertebra.

Experts are amazed he was able to walk away from treatment at Melbourne’s Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre — and he has resumed playing football for Colac in recent weeks.

Ms Carroll’s actions have led to her being nominated for a 2014 Pride of Australia award.

“She’s amazing,” Mr Donne, said.

“I guess I’ll have to save her life or something now.”

Ms Carroll, 17, a Year 12 student at Belmont High School, was relaxing on the beach when she heard her boyfriend’s cries for help and ran, clothed, into the water.

“He wasn’t sure what was happening and couldn’t breathe, and when I went out there he couldn’t move,” she recalled.

She held Mr Donne up, unstrapped him from his surfboard and with help from a man got his 196cm frame on to the board.

Once he was on the beach she stabilised his neck until paramedics arrived