David Young, 58, died when he was swept away in floodwaters at Onewhero, Waikato. Photo / Supplied
David Young, 58, died when he was swept away in floodwaters at Onewhero, Waikato. Photo / Supplied
A neighbour of a man who died during the Auckland Anniversary flooding has described the harrowing attempt to save him before he was swept away.
Andrew Pedersen today gave evidence at a coronial inquest into the deaths of 18 people killed during the 2023 Auckland Anniversary floods and Cyclone Gabrielle.
On the night of January 27, as torrential rain fell, Pedersen received a phone call from his neighbour asking whether he had seen her husband, David Young.
Young, 58, had been driving on Allen and Eyre Rd to help his stranded wife when he got caught in floodwaters.
Pedersen, a farmer, offered to look for him in his tractor. He told the inquest that as he got into the tractor, he received a call from another neighbour.
“They rang me because they could actually hear someone yelling for help over the floods. So we knew then it was dire.”
Surf life savers were responsible for rescuing scores of people during the Auckland Anniversary weekend floods (pictured), and Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Supplied/ Surf Life Saving Northern Region
Pedersen said he drove about 2-3km from his driveway when he spotted Young clinging to what he presumed were branches, debris or a power pole.
“I don’t really know what he was clinging on to. It was so black, you couldn’t see a thing.
“All I could see was his headlight,” Pedersen said of the head torch Young was wearing at that point.
“Before I went out, I discussed with David. He told me he’d dropped off the side of the road. So I knew I had to drop off.
“And as I started turning in, the water caught the front of the tractor and I was having to hold on to the wheel brakes,” Pedersen said.
“It was pretty dicey and I just decided I wasn’t going to do it without a life jacket.”
Pedersen said his tractor’s headlights were initially unaffected by the conditions, but the floodwaters eventually took them out and he was left with only the light in the cab of the tractor.
The cab itself, which he estimated to be about 1.6m off the ground, quickly filled up with water too.
David Young, 58, had been going to the aid of his wife when he was caught in floodwaters. Photo / Supplied
Pedersen told the inquest that at the start he was not concerned and did not think “for one second” he would be unable to get to Young.
It was not until he was in the thick of it that he realised how bad things were.
“I sort of realised the significance of it and backed out.”
Pedersen said he made several calls to 111 but could not get through. He also called his wife and another neighbour who lived about 500m up the road to bring more safety gear, namely a life jacket.
“The intention was that I was going to turn the tractor around to [David] and we were going to try to chuck a rope to him.
“We knew he was struggling by that stage,” Pedersen said of his friend.
“We were 5 or 10 feet [1.5-3m] from him... but he just lost his grip.”
Pedersen’s wife, who was on land, was holding a spotlight towards Young. Because of the head torch he was wearing, he was easily spotted in the floodwaters.
“We could see him going... he went under and then he popped back up. Then there’s a grove... once he went into that, that was it. He didn’t come back up again.”
During his evidence, Pedersen criticised official search and rescue teams, including police, who he said would not listen to anybody when they arrived the next day.
“They need to take a little more local knowledge on hand.”
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