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FOUND: Crash heroes come forward

Andrew Tillett

17 April 2008

THE mysterious local heroes who helped pull a young man from a blazing car at Newport have emerged.

The rescuers  many of whom were strangers until thrown together by fate  revealed their stories of bravery yesterday, just hours after another dramatic accident along the same stretch of road.

Mona Vale electrician Matt Griffiths was the first on the scene of Saturday's shocking early morning crash, arriving in another cab just seconds after a P-plater slammed into a taxi at the Barrenjoey Rd and Beaconsfield St traffic lights. He risked his own life to pull the driver from the car, which was on fire.

``I quickly jumped out of the cab and went straight to the P-plater's car,'' Mr Griffiths told the Daily.  ``I couldn't see how many passengers were inside because it was so smoky. It took me a while but I got the door open. The driver was slumped over on the passenger seat and I climbed inside.

``Another guy, who was a passenger in the (first) taxi, and had blood on his face, got in through the other door.''

Mr Griffiths said he did not know the crash car was burning as he forced his way in.

``The driver looked like he was trying to sit up but I grabbed his head to keep him as still as possible,'' Mr Griffiths said.

``I was thinking I would just hold him until the ambulance arrived.

``But then people started yelling the car was on fire, so we just got him out of the car as quickly as possible.

``There was a bang and some flames. It was the other guy who said we had to get him out.

``We carried him to the side of the road, laid him down and wrapped blankets around him. He was in a bad way.''

The crash on Saturday morning was a horror ending for partygoers leaving a 21st birthday celebration, with the three passengers in the wrecked taxi among the revellers.

Andrew McGuinness and his friend Jamie Burns were following the taxi after leaving the party.

Mr McGuinness said his initial reaction was to keep driving until he realised the Toyota was on fire.

Running on adrenalin, the two students first helped wrench the door open before turning their attention to the fire.

``There was this guy who had come with two extinguishers and I grabbed one to help put the fire out,'' Mr McGuinness said.

``The flames were quite big, they were two or three feet high coming out of the radiator. The car was on fire for a good couple of minutes.''

Mr McGuinness and Mr Burns also helped carry the P-plate driver to the footpath and aided the taxi driver, a 33-year-old man from Beacon Hill.

The taxi driver was released from hospital over the weekend and the P-plate driver is in a stable condition in Royal North Shore.

Mr Griffiths and Mr McGuinness both downplayed suggestions they were heroes.

``It was pretty scary. I didn't know what to expect when I opened the door,'' Mr Griffiths said. ``It was only the next morning when it hit me what happened.

``I think most people would have done the same thing in the same situation.''

The revelations come in the wake of another shocking accident yesterday with an Allambie man, 20, trapped in his car after hitting a power pole on Barrenjoey Rd about 1.30am. Northern Beaches police believe he spun out of control, skidded sideways for 100m and slammed into the pole. The man was released from Royal North Shore Hospital yesterday.

 

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