'I knew I only had a few minutes' - man tells of roadside rescue on SH3 near Sanson

Murray Michie at the scene where he rescued a woman and her children from their burning SUV at Mt Stewart near Feilding. 13 July 2015. New Zealand Herald Photograph by Mark Mitchell

Murray Michie was thinking of his own grandchildren as he cut two girls and a woman from their burning SUV.

As flames and smoke engulfed the vehicle, Mr Michie freed the unresponsive driver seconds before the car exploded on the side of SH3 near Sanson.

He was travelling back to Bulls from Palmerston North with his wife, Sheryll, when they came across the scene of the accident on Saturday afternoon.

The woman and three children were trapped when the SUV, which was towing a horse float, was hit by a car and sent crashing through a fence and down a bank, landing on its roof.

Mr Michie said he was not the first at the scene, but as he arrived he saw a flame emerge from the front of the upside-down vehicle.

"There were some people already there when I arrived and I asked if anyone was inside, they said yes so I jumped the fence and they said, 'Get out, it's going to blow,' so I knew I only had a few minutes."

The 58-year-old retired painter said one of the three girls had been able to get out of the vehicle, but the woman and two girls were still trapped inside.

They looked to be aged between 10 and 13 years old, similar to Mr Michie's own grandchildren whom he was about to host for afternoon tea. "I kept thinking that if it was my grandchildren in there I would be wanting someone to cut them out.

"... Someone had to get in and get them out, otherwise they were going to burn."

He said the crumpled SUV was filled with inflated airbags and the seatbelts had locked tightly into place.

"I tried using broken glass and some other bits and pieces to cut them but it wouldn't work, so I yelled out to a younger bloke and he ran and got his pocket knife.

"I cut out the first girl and carried her to the fence line, then went back for the second girl and carried her out.

"I don't know what their injuries were but they were pretty bad. I did ask the mother if she was all right but she never answered me so I just said, 'I am going to drag you out of here before the car blows up'.

"I just got her out and carried her to the fence line when the vehicle went 'boom' and I could feel the ground shake."

As Mr Michie was working to free the occupants, truckie Tony Duffy, 45, who is a volunteer firefighter and a former police officer, arrived at the scene.

Mr Duffy reached the other car first and saw the driver, Kent James Bond, in the passenger footwell.

He checked his vitals and realised he was dead, so went to help Mr Michie by yelling for fire extinguishers. Five people came forward with them and it was enough to keep the blaze under control while the occupants were cut free.

Acting Inspector Nigel Allan said the men who pulled the passengers free almost certainly saved their lives.

The driver of the SUV was in a stable condition in Palmerston North Hospital's intensive care unit yesterday. The three children were discharged.