Heroes emerge from Shoalhaven River crash

A fisherman, a farmer and four firefighters have been hailed as heroes for their attempts to save the occupants of a car that plunged into the Shoalhaven River on Sunday night.Professional fisherman Peter Stanton was on the opposite side of the river when he heard a crash and saw flames coming from a green Ford Falcon as it hit the water.He located an injured woman and held her above water until farmer John Bryce arrived.Mr Bryce helped drag the woman into the boat and gave her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.He also searched the water for the driver.Nowra firefighters John Dun, Amenatave Kaunicaramaki, Gary Gilbert and Wayne Gerstenberg used their breathing apparatus to dive under water in the hope an air bubble may have been keeping people alive inside the car.The body of the driver of the car was later located.Police divers attached chains to the car and pulled it from the river yesterday.Mr Stanton said he did not hesitate to act when he saw a car plunge into the Shoalhaven River."I just took off straight across the river," Mr Stanton said.On the scene within a minute, he could see no trace of the car but heard faint calls for help.He spotted a woman clinging to rocks, and as he grabbed hold of her arm she lapsed into unconsciousness.Mr Stanton's left arm was paralysed in a car accident several years ago, and with just one hand he was unable to haul the woman onto the boat."I had her by one arm, she was unconscious and like a dead weight," he explained.As his boat started to drift, Mr Stanton held onto the woman with all his might.Eventually, farmer John Bryce arrived on the scene and jumped into the boat, helping Mr Stanton drag her aboard and perform resuscitation.When the boat was safely at the riverbank, Mr Bryce went back into the water to look for the car, but said he searched too far out and petrol on the water made it difficult to breathe.Both men praised the woman they helped to rescue. "She was a real fighter," Mr Stanton said.