Samson Aruwa on a seat dedicated to Sophia Crestani in Dunedin. Photo / Tess Brunton, RNZ
By Tess Brunton of RNZ
A man who carried Sophia Crestani away from a deadly stairwell pile-up and helped free at least 30 others at a Dunedin student party says the night is burned in his memory.
Samson Aruwa carried the 19-year-old University of Otago student away from the five-to-six people-deep pile at the overcrowded party in October 2019 after managing to free himself while wearing a moon boot.
CPR was carried out on Crestani outside but she could not be revived.
Aruwa, who was 20 at the time, was awarded a certificate of appreciation by Police Commissioner Richard Chambers in Dunedin on Thursday morning.
Aruwa said it was an honour to receive the award but also a sense of melancholy.
“There was a lot of tragedy surrounding that night. I don’t think I go a day without thinking about it at least once. It’s kind of burned in my memory. It’s like my Roman Empire,” he said.
“It wasn’t just me there that night. There were a lot of people there who had a significant hand in helping out.
“Without the other people helping me, we wouldn’t have been able to get anywhere near as many people out as we did.”
Aruwa became a nurse after the deadly party and although his career choice was more about following in the footsteps of his mother, the events of that night gave him more confidence.
“I know how I’ll act in an emergency and I know that I’ll be trying to find the best solution,” he said.
Chambers said the party resulted in tragedy but the situation could have been much worse if it was not for Aruwa’s selflessness.
What Aruwa did on that night was remarkable, showing exceptional courage and acting selflessly in the face of a life-threatening crowd crush, he said.
“It was a chaotic evening and to do what you did for those that were tangled in what was an absolute mess that night was just absolutely remarkable.”
Maggot Fest at the Manor was heaving with hundreds of people and there was only one exit after tenants sealed up the other doors.
The stairs were jam-packed and the door was a bottleneck when people started to fall.
As some remained behind locked doors, Aruwa was trying to pull people out of the pile-up.
Crestani’s mother Elspeth McMillan said she believed there would have been more dead and injured partygoers without Aruwa’s act of courage.
She said the tenants disregarded the safety of partygoers when they blocked all exits apart from the front door to protect their property.
“It was a disaster waiting to happen,” she said.
McMillan said Aruwa took control of the situation and stopped more people from coming into the party.
“Out of tragedy can come light and that light shines very brightly on Samson. Thank you for your bravery,” she said.
An inquest found Crestani’s death was a tragic accident, although Coroner Heather McKenzie said it was likely preventable with active oversight from the hosts.
She criticised the tenants, whose names are suppressed, saying it was not safe or responsible for hosts to remain in secured rooms and let their party grow on its own, saying more active oversight might have led to the event being controlled or shut down before it became critical.
Crestani’s father Bede Crestani said Aruwa showed dignity and courage despite chaos from all sides as more people tried to enter the party while others were being crushed.
“His courage was bigger than his stature. We have to contrast that on the night to the tenants. They were absent. They were on the stairs. They did nothing. They were derelict,” he said.
“They were weak people.”
McKenzie said there was evidence some of those in closed-off rooms knew people were asking to be let in and being in their rooms did not absolve them of responsibility.
Bede Crestani also commended Aruwa’s courage at the inquest.
“Didn’t matter what anybody said, what anybody thought. He was saying it. He stopped the court. It just shows the courage. It was a breath of fresh air and it put truth to lies,” he said.
“This is a courageous man in many ways.”
He thanked Aruwa for the care he showed his daughter, saying he was true to his values despite being under immense pressure.
– RNZ