Hurt man comes to the rescue

Don Simich, who thought he wouldn't walk again, played down his part. Photo / Doug Sherring

Police and lifesavers praise the actions of quick-thinking Don Simich and his fellow rescuer as they save woman.

At the start of this year, Don Simich, 22, was so badly injured he feared he would never work again as a naval marine engineer. But this week, he was praised by surf lifesavers for pulling a drowning woman from the waves.

Simich and BMX high-performance national coach Ken Cools collided head-on in Pukekohe on November 11 last year, leaving Simich with a shattered femur.

Last week he was at Raglan beach with friends when he heard a woman shouting. She had lost her kayak and was being sucked out by a rip.

He ran down the beach to a man who was trying to start the motor on a dinghy but had no key. Simich managed to get the boat started by using a switch to over-ride the ignition system, and the two men raced out to the woman.

Simich got her into the boat.

Jeremy Hughes said he was standing on the jetty when he heard the woman shouting for help. He noticed a boat moored at the jetty.

"There was no lock on it and I thought the owner would not have minded me using it to help the woman out," Hughes said.

"I jumped in the boat and tried to start it but couldn't get the engine going. Don came along and got the dinghy started. I thought he'd need some help so I jumped into the boat, too, and we headed out.

"She was fine in the end but was in a lot of distress and was clearly not a good swimmer," he said. "It was very lucky that Don got the boat started."

Club captain Debbie Phillips-Morgan said Simich's actions were "commendable".

"It was a real Kiwi reaction," Phillips-Morgan said.

"He did whatever it took to help someone in trouble. Raglan is notorious and people often get into trouble if they underestimate the power of the water. It is highly commendable doing such a brave thing."

Raglan police constable Dean McMillan commended the men for their actions.

"The situation could have got a bit hairy if they hadn't done what they did. The tide was going out and she was trying to paddle but wasn't strong enough. She flipped out and managed to grab on to a pole, but if they hadn't got to her things could have ended up pretty badly," he said.

Simich played down his part in the rescue.

"I was just sitting on the beach when I heard some shouting," he said.

"At first I couldn't understand but then I heard 'help help'. I saw a lady holding on to a pole and getting dragged out by the current.

"When we got her back to shore she was okay. She didn't have much English but said 'Thank you, thank you' and walked off," he said.

Cools has been charged with careless driving causing injury and will go to trial in the Pukekohe District Court in October.