Australian reporter rescues driver moments before SUV sinks in floodwaters

Not every hero wears a cape. Some simply hold a mic. Will Murray, an ABC reporter, was in Morayfield to cover the heavy rain and flooding. That’s when a four-wheel drive came through the flooded Buchanan Road, stalled and began to sink.Within seconds, the car was out of sight. Murray made a quick call to Triple Zero, handed the phone to a colleague and swam out. Daniel Hainey, a bystander, also jumped in to rescue the man. The incident happened in Morayfield, north of Brisbane, on Thursday, 22 October, where about 170 millimetres of rain had fallen since the morning. All three were safe after the rescue, which was captured on camera by Murray’s colleague.

Unexpected heroes

Will Murray was at the scene with camera operator Liz Pickering to cover the flooding. They were filming overlay footage of the flooded road when Murray saw the car enter the water.“I saw him drive in and immediately his car started floating downstream, so I rang Triple Zero,” the reporter recalled. The emergency operator asked him whether he could see the driver and whether the man could get free. Initially, Murray could see him, but then the driver disappeared from view.

So Murray handed the phone to Pickering. “I made the call to jump in.”Daniel Hainey, who was out with his family nearby, had also noticed the vehicle. He did not realise anyone was inside until the window moved. By then, the car was sinking deeper. So he went into the water too.

The rescue

The two men reached the car and tried the nearest door. It would not open. They moved to the back and looked for another way in. That’s when Murray tried the rear passenger door.

He braced his feet against the car and pulled as hard as he could. Finally, the door swung open.He believes the rushing water helped by building pressure against the door. “I think water rushing in helped create some pressure to force the door open,” he told the broadcaster. The driver immediately got out, and the two men pulled him clear into shallower water. “All three of us gave each other a big hug and were just so relieved.

It was very scary, but happy everyone is safe and relieved it is OK,” the reporter recalled.

The man got lucky, but approach flooded roads with caution

Emergency services arrived about ten minutes after the rescue. The driver had not seen the warning signs. “I had no idea how deep it was, and that’s the lesson we keep hearing. It didn’t look particularly severe. But as you can see in the vision, the car completely disappears. It’s clearly very deep in the middle there,” Murray said.Hainey said the driver was “very, very lucky”. When asked about being called a hero, Murray quickly turned the attention towards emergency workers. He said the experience had given him a new respect for their work.The Queensland Fire Department has repeatedly warned residents about the dangers of floodwater and advises them to follow these safety guidelines: