A spark of curiosity, selflessness and teamwork combined to save a woman's life at Austinmer on Sunday afternoon.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Helensburgh residents Darren and Sarah Smith and their children Georgia, Ruby and Taeya were walking on Little Austinmer Beach with their dog when Mr Smith decided to have a "little sticky-beak" around the edge of Bells Point.
There he found a woman on the rocks, seriously injured and "petrified" as the water crept closer.
Mr Smith said the woman was in serious pain so he grabbed her hand, assured her he'd be back, and took off to raise the alarm.
"He came running back around the corner and said 'Call the ambulance, call the rescue, there's a woman who's fallen on the rocks'," Mrs Smith said.
The woman had fallen several metres and sustained life-threatening injuries.
Mr Smith and 15-year-old Georgia comforted the woman while Mrs Smith called triple-0.
Mrs Smith said they did not want to move her out of fear of aggravating her injuries, but with the tide coming in they knew it might be necessary.
So she raced back to the beach and flagged down two passers-by - men she knew only as Simon and Aaron - who immediately ran to the aid of her husband and the injured woman.
Emergency services rushed to the scene and arrived before the three men were forced to move the woman, but NSW Ambulance Inspector Matt Sterling said the water was already thigh-deep when paramedics got there.
Paramedics and police waded through the water to reach the woman and with the incoming tide they had to make a decision, and fast, about whether they moved her immediately or waited for a helicopter to winch her off the rocks.
Inspector Sterling said they decided to use a Stokes litter - a piece of equipment shaped like a large basket - to carry the woman back to the beach.
Still in the water, they put the woman on a spinal board before paramedics, police and the members of the public carted her to safety using the litter.
A paramedic and doctor were winched from the Toll Ambulance Rescue chopper onto the beach and the woman was stabilised there before being taken up to the Headlands Hotel to be flown to hospital.
As well as the rising tide, emergency services also had to contend with fading light: the woman had to be sedated and intubated, "not an easy thing to do when it's dark," Inspector Sterling said.
But Fire and Rescue NSW firefighters were there to provide lights, helping paramedics do their life-saving work.
"It was really well-coordinated and an effective multi-agency response," Inspector Sterling said.
Mrs Smith said it was "really good" to see everyone jump into action to help the woman and nice to know she lived in such a "beautiful" community.
She has also reflected on her husband's decision to look around the edge of the headland that afternoon.
"We believe God sort of gave him that little push," Mrs Smith said.
"I'm just glad I could help out, but I think I did the same as anyone would," Mr Smith said.
The woman's condition has improved and she remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition.
To read more stories, download the Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.
Sign up for breaking news emails below...