Local cop makes brave river rescue

A local cop dived into the fast flowing Waikato River last Saturday in a desperate attempt to save the passengers of a car crash.

A minute before Napier policeman Scott Quate crossed the Shakespeare St Bridge in Cambridge a car and trailer had veered off the road into the river 10m below.

Mr Quate was due to meet his brother for coffee when he stopped his car, ran down the bank and made a daring rescue.

"I could see all the cars stopped on the bridge with people looking into the river and when I looked down I could see a man in the water yelling so I just ran across the bridge to get to him."

As Mr Quate was about halfway he noticed a woman, who was later named as Susan Donna Ramsay, 60, float to the surface unconscious.

His adrenaline kicked in and he charged down a steep 20m bank and dived into the fast flowing Waikato River.

"The current was strong so I drifted 7 to 10m to where the pair was and luckily a branch was hanging over the river so I could hold on to that with one hand and hold the lady above the water against my chest with the other."

The trio waited in the water for about five minutes hanging on to the branch before a group of men threw a rope down to them.

Mr Quate tied the rope around Ms Ramsay before the men pulled them to knee deep water so they could get their footing.

"I gave her breaths of CPR and chest compression on the river bank before we got more secure and by that time fire, ambulance staff and an off duty nurse were there so could take over."

Mr Quate was thankful the others showed up to help them out of the water as he said he wouldn't have got them out himself.

"The current was so strong so it was lucky we could cling on to the branch and I could hold her but we would still be there now if it wasn't for them."

By the time Mr Quate reached the car his partner was waiting with towels and he was whisked off to have a hot shower.

Mr Quate described it as a crazy experience as he was usually the one who turned up after the crash, not during.

"I am normally the one to clean up the mess, not be a part of it."

Ms Ramsay was announced dead at the scene initially but after significant medical intervention, including approximately one hour of CPR, she regained a pulse and was taken to hospital in a critical condition.

However, on Monday her life support was turned off and she died and her partner was left with moderate injuries.