Family friend Barry Foster earlier this month revealed that Mr Bowes was diagnosed with a terminal malignant brain tumour after the incident.
He said Mr Bowes would have tried to save his son's life ``in one instant'' had he not been suffering with the tumour.
At the time of the incident, police said the siblings were in the vehicle with their father, who had gone to his worksite at a goldmine to refuel a pump being used to drain a pit.
The vehicle plunged over a bank and landed upside down in the water and Mr Bowes scrambled out in the dark and ran for help.
Police officers described the rescue as ``bittersweet'' for the family, finding one child alive and the other dead.