Man who pulled trio from burning car ‘I’m not a hero’
A hero who saved three people from a burning car with seconds to spare says he was “just doing a job”.
Acting on instinct, Rotorua man Fa’atoaga “Fatu” Tuifaasisina Pelurale Aupeipeigamalie jumped out of his car and rushed to help without pausing to think of the risks involved.
And his rapid reaction saved the trio. “But I’m not a hero. I was just doing a job,” Fatu said.
It was a Sunday night and Fatu and his wife, Mai, were travelling back from Te Puke after picking up their daughter from work.
“It’s foggy and it’s black. I am just concentrating on the road because you can’t see anything,” he recalled.
But about 10pm and 30km from home, Fatu came across two vehicles that had collided on the straight between Paengaroa and Okere Falls on State Highway 33.
A 2-year-old boy, 26-year-old woman and 23-year-old man from Te Puke and a 23-year-old man from Rotorua were injured in the crash.
“I heard the baby crying and I stop
and run over . . . because that breaks my heart.”
The sight of the baby stretching his arms out, screaming, was what Fatu saw as he wrenched open the door.
He rushed the baby to his daughter to look after, then headed back to look for other victims.
“I went to the other side, where the passenger was, and the smoke is black. My worry is that they are going to suffocate inside.
“I yell, ‘Are you okay’ and he has nothing. I thought maybe he was dead.”
Fatu managed to drag the man out of the car, causing him to stir, and walked him over to wife Mai and his daughter.
“And then I came to the driver’s side, I can’t open the door, it is jammed.
“I just hold the frame and say ‘Please God, help me, help me’ and then I just grabbed the door like a piece of paper.”
The black smoke that had been engulfing the car was suddenly replaced by flames and, while the woman was screaming about her leg, Fatu was only thinking of her life.
“I hold her, pull her up and then I managed to take her out.”
Along came another vehicle heading to Rotorua and Fatu waved down the driver for assistance.
“He holds her legs and we drag her away and then ‘boom’. Everything goes up.
“My shoes were burning, but I don’t care. I just wanted to save people’s lives.”
Now, more than ever, he hopes drivers at the wheel will pay attention only to the road.