Police commissioner Mike Bush commends 2 heroic North Shore-based Constables for saving a 63 year old women from drowning, after her BMW drove off the road and landed in the waters of Northcote Point in Auckland, New Zealand. Constables Paul Watts and Simon Russell were called to the scene just before 3:15 pm, February 17, 2015. The pair arrived, to find 2 members of the public trying to stop the car from slipping further into the ocean.
According to constable Paul Watts, the car was already three-quarters of the way under water. The officers estimate that the remaining time before the car was completely submerged was roughly a minute to a minute and a half. Constable Russell tried to break the driver door window with his button, but failed. When going down to search the ocean floor for a rock, Mr. Russell cut his hand. He then managed to break the window with a spanner, he found.
Meanwhile, Mr. Watts started smashing an opening in the rear window with a large rock. At that time the car starting moving very fast, so Mr. Russell tried to hold the vehicle up from sinking. Once the glass was cleared, both men pulled the women to safety.
Thanks to the heroic act of these two brave officers, and other members of the public, the women managed to escape this hardship with minor scratches and bruises. According to one of her rescuers, she was OK, “just startled and confused.”