Local man Sonny Timbery, 63, has been hailed as a hero for his selfless response to an emergency on Wednesday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Sonny was in an art class in Bomaderry when he heard a loud bang outside.
A 95 year-old male driver had accidentally veered off the Princes Highway and crashed a car into the fence in wet conditions.
“I looked through the window and saw a car turned up on its side, smoke everywhere,” Sonny said.
“My first reaction was to run down the stairs and see if I could assist.”
Onlookers tried to prevent Sonny from approaching the vehicle.
“They could smell petrol, they said, ‘Don’t go near it, there's fuel, it might blow,’” Sonny said.
“Well, I couldn’t leave him. This old fella, he could have had a heart attack from the panic. I said, ‘Don’t worry mate, I won’t leave you.’”
Sonny opened the car door, and checked to ensure the man had not suffered a neck injury.
He unbuckled the man, put his arms around his torso and pulled him upwards.
Sonny – a 160cm tall, 70kg man – was pleased to get him out, even though he sprained his wrist lifting him.
He called out for help to move the man to the ground, and inmates on day release from the South Coast Correctional Centre responded.
“I’d like to thank the inmates for coming over and assisting me when they did,” Sonny said.
“If they didn’t come over, he’d have still been in there, it would have been harder for me, there was no traffic pulling up and no one else was helping.
“Not all guys out there (in jail) are bad. These guys had a kind streak in their heart. Don’t look at them and stereotype them, there are some good guys in there.”
WATCH: Sonny’s account of the rescue
Sonny, a proud Aboriginal man, said it was rewarding to see the man leave the scene relatively unscathed.
“That old fella, he may have a wife, he may have grand-kids, I’m sure he has great-great grand-kids and more,” Sonny said.
“The fact he can go home, smile, I’m sure his grandkids will be happy the old guy’s not hurt. That’s my main priority.”