Truckie: Saving her life was enough reward
When Phil Newton saw a young woman perched on a clifftop above the Arapuni Dam he had a gutwrenching feeling.
This was not a typical place to fish, 65 metres high on the wrong side of a rumbling Waikato River. As it turned out the truckie of 20 years was right. This woman was struggling and stopping on that winter’s day saved her life.
‘‘My first thoughts were that this isn’t right. This is a bad situation. I had a feeling I needed to stop.’’
On Wednesday the Taupo¯ father was recognised for his life saving efforts with the inaugural Truck Driver Hero Award. The first award aimed at shining a light on the positive actions of truck drivers in an industry battling a severe shortage.
But the title of ‘hero’ is one Newton shrugs off.
‘‘Making a difference on that day was incredible – that was enough.’’
The 45-year-old Fonterra truck driver was running a typical route through the rolling farm country of Arapuni around 11am on May 3 when he approached the one-way bridge.
Seeing a car ahead, he went to give way but realised it wasn’t moving.
‘‘I was looking around, thinking it was pretty odd as there’s a carpark about 20 or 30 metres away. As I was driving across the dam I could see the woman sitting on the edge of the cliff.’’
A gut-wrenching feeling swept over Newton.
‘‘She was all alone, sitting on the side of a cliff, and I thought I have to go back.’’
In an area of patchy cellphone reception, Newton contacted Fonterra dispatch which notified police. But making a U-turn in his Volvo truck and trailer unit isn’t easy. He had to drive another five minutes before finding somewhere to double back.
‘‘I went back and parked in the carpark and jumped out and she was still there. If she wasn’t there I knew where she would be and I didn’t want to see that. She’d cut a hole in the security fence – so she’d planned it.’’
Newton was hesitant not to spook her. He approached cautiously, rattling the security fence to get her attention. The young woman turned around, tears streaming down her face.
‘‘She was crying, she looked so unhappy. I told her I was coming through but don’t worry I was just going to sit there.’’
He plonked himself down and began chatting.
‘‘She’d been through quite a bit and it was quite emotional. I said to her, I just want to give you a hug, but I’m not while you’re sitting there.’’
Newton thought of his own children. Between him and his wife they have five, aged from nine to 19.
Police officers arrived about 15 minutes later and managed to approach the woman taking her by the arm.
‘‘They backed her away from the edge and we got her out.’’ As police helped the girl away, she apologised to Newton.
‘‘I felt guilty – she’s not the one who should be apologising. But she did thank me.’’
Based in Broadlands, north of Taupo¯ , the driver works out of the Reporoa Fonterra factory and regularly takes the Arapuni route.
‘‘I always look to where she was sitting.’’
Newton was later nominated for the Truck Driver Hero Award by Fonterra’s South Waikato transport manager Stuart Reed. From there he was selected as the national winner and on Wednesday evening picked up his award in Dunedin.
‘‘Just saving her life that day was reward enough. It will be the highlight of my driving career.’’