Husband hailed as hero in driving lesson tragedy
Bodies of Avneel and Sheetal Ram pulled from 6m-deep water after car went into lake
Ahusband who died trying to save his wife from a Christchurch lake during a driving lesson that turned to tragedy yesterday has been hailed as a hero by his distraught family.
Police divers recovered the bodies of Avneel Ram, 26, and his 31-yearold wife, Sheetal, from the bottom of a lake in Westlake Reserve, in the Halswell area, yesterday.
Sheetal’s brother-in-law Hinesh Kumar and other family members identified the bodies at the scene.
They formed a guard of honour, crying and hugging, as the bodies were taken from the lakeside into the back of a waiting hearse.
The couple’s 5-month-old daughter was at the scene and is being cared for by grandparents.
Avneel was teaching his wife to drive, family say, when the red Toyota she was driving accelerated into the lake about 5.40pm on Tuesday. He dived in to try to reach his wife. Jordan Fleming was walking his dog when he saw the tragedy unfold.
He saw Avneel dive in and resurface several times. After “three or four” dives, he did not reappear.
Kumar said Avneel was a “hero” for trying to save his wife.
“He is a hero to us. He tried to save his wife. Not everyone would do that,” Kumar said.
The close-knit Fijian Indian community in Christchurch is a big help, the family say.
They described the couple as “very friendly, very happy people”.
“They were really fun to be around, really nice,” Kumar said.
The couple, originally from Suva, got married last year.
Avneel ran an air-conditioning company and was well known in the community.
He was teaching his wife how to drive so she could find work.
The family were critical of the time it took to get to the couple.
“I just want to see them. That is all,” Kumar said yesterday morning at the lakeside.
“If this was Fiji, we would’ve have got in and got them out ourselves. We would not wait around,” he said.
Divers found the bodies yesterday morning and they were removed from the lake just after midday.
The car, which was fitted with L plates and had a damaged front windscreen, was found by divers on its roof at a depth of 6m in the lake, which was formerly a shingle quarry.
It was lifted out by a crane yesterday afternoon.
The family left the lakeside after that to grieve together.
It was a “shock” to see the bodies, Kumar said as he left the scene.
Canterbury metro area commander Superintendent Lane Todd said it was a “very tragic event”.
The lake is just 200m from Checketts Ave where Helen Milner, dubbed the Black Widow, murdered her husband Phil Nisbet in 2009.
Checketts Ave is also where builder Michael McGrath lived before his mysterious disappearance in May.
Police searched the lake during their huge, and so far unsuccessful, hunt for McGrath. tobacco, alcohol, communication devices, drugs, drug paraphernalia, tattoo equipment, and weapons.
A range of methods are used to stop contraband entering prison, including x-rays, phone monitoring, and detector dogs.
Cookson said drugs could create a dangerous working environment for staff and stop prisoners engaging in rehabilitation, education and employment opportunities.
He said Corrections was “vigilant” about holding people to account.
The cannabis find had been referred to local police and there may be criminal charges.
“The person responsible will also be banned from visiting the prison for the maximum period of 12 months.”
He said anyone being pressured to bring drugs into prison could report it anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.