‘He’s a goner, I thought’ — boy survives fall from car
Police praise 10-year-old for his efforts to save his nana on Waikato Expressway
Two men in a truck thought a young boy who fell out of a fast-moving car in front of their vehicle was sure to die. But 10-year-old Ryan Farelly, who had been trying to stop his grandmother’s car after she slipped into a semi-conscious state while driving along the Waikato Expressway, survived the tumble — and has since been praised by police for helping his stricken nana.
Senior driver trainer Stephen Mitchell said: “I’ve seen lots of things in my life, but it’s the first time I’ve ever seen someone bounce on the road like that kid and survive.”
“My first thought was he’s a goner at that sort of speed. He was very lucky he didn’t hit the ground with his head,” he told the Herald.
Amazingly, Ryan ended up with only bruises and scrapes.
Yet after he tumbled out, nana Kathie, suffering a medical condition, continued down the expressway.
Following in the truck, Mitchell, who was a passenger, told driver Gene Browne they had to do something.
The pair used the right-hand lane to pass Kathie’s vehicle before pulling in front of her and slowing the truck down.
This led Kathie to slow the car down behind them and come to a halt.
Mitchell jumped out and rushed to her. “She still kept on trying to drive. She drove into the back of the truck, tapping the bumper a couple of times,” he said.
“So I leaned in, shoved the car into park and switched the ignition off and took the keys out.”
Kathie was staring vacantly through the windscreen. “I was saying to her, ‘do you realise your kid has just gone out the back door’.
“Normally if a person’s grandchild had just flown out of the car, they would be hysterical.”
“She didn’t do anything — when I say nothing, she didn’t blink, she didn’t say anything — so I just took over and put the car into park.”
Mitchell said it was lucky he and Browne had been the ones to come up behind Kathie.
Having spent years teaching truckies how to drive, he quickly noticed the car driving erratically.
He thought the driver was drunk but then noticed Ryan leaning out the back window waving at them.
Mitchell at first waved back as if to say, “sit back down and put your seatbelt on”.
He told Browne they needed to get past and they had just pulled into the right lane, when Ryan opened the lefthand side back door and fell out.
“We were going 85km/h right behind them. But we had just pulled to the right and luckily we had done that because if we hadn’t we would have driven over the top of him.”
Mitchell said he and Browne managed to stop Kathie’s car between 400m and 500m past the point where Ryan had fallen out.
A passing ambulance stopped and treated Ryan and Kathie.
Counties Manukau police praised Ryan.
They said he put his foot on the brake but couldn’t stop the car because Kathie’s foot was on the accelerator as it drifted toward the crash barrier — and the Waikato River.
Kathie described Ryan as “a very special little boy” and praised his quick thinking. “He looks after me, he’s always done.”
Mitchell hoped Kathie was checked out because as a truck driver trainer he said it was important all motorists were medically fit to drive.
We were going 85km/h right behind them. But we had just pulled to the right . . . if we hadn’t we would have driven over the top of him. Stephen Mitchell, truck driver