CPR skills save a life

LUKE PARKER

HEROES: Bruce Simpson, left, and Mario Ozich at the rescue site at Piha.

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Adrenaline, quick-thinking and a good knowledge of CPR combined to save a man’s life after an early morning road crash at Piha.

Rescuer Bruce Simpson was bunking down at a mate’s place on Marine Pde when he heard a smash on the road outside around 2am.

The volunteer lifeguard rushed outside and found a vehicle in the creek.

The people-mover was upside down and under water when he reached it.

Bruce, 23, whipped off his shirt and jandals and dived in.

The doors were locked.

"I tried to pull them open and then kick the back window with my foot," the Te Atatu South resident says.

"It was dark and I was right under the water."

A passerby gave him a car jack which he used to smash the glass.

Bruce couldn’t see anything but reached inside where the car’s occupants grabbed at his hands. He managed to drag three to safety.

"They were screaming and crying, saying there’s still someone in there," Bruce says.

"I told a guy on the bank to come in and hold my legs. I went under again but I was running out of breath."

Bruce managed to get the fourth occupant out through a side window just as his friend, Mario Ozich from Swanson, joined him in the shoulder deep water.

"The guy was pretty much dead," Mario says.

"We checked his airway and he wasn’t breathing. We put him up on top of the car which was the flattest place we could find to start CPR on him."

The men were ecstatic when their patient started breathing again.

"He spewed up water and vomit but was still unconscious," Mario, 22, says. "You could hear his breathing but it was really husky."

The victim was lifted to the bank where an off-duty St John member took over.

The Westpac rescue helicopter arrived soon after and flew the man to Auckland Hospital in a critical condition.

Bruce received several injuries during his heroic rescue.

"I was bleeding everywhere from the cuts on my arms. I’ve got a big gash on the bottom of my foot."

The pair are modest about their life-saving actions.

"It’s a bit surreal to think we saved people’s lives. It only kicks in when you talk about it," Bruce says. "I’m just glad that we were there."

Mario, who learned CPR at his construction job a year ago, knew one of the car’s passengers from his days at school.

"He Facebooked me and said how thankful he was. He also asked for Bruce’s number," Mario says.

The serious crash unit is investigating.

- © Fairfax NZ News