The man who died when the van he was in crashed off the Mangatapu Bridge, Tauranga, on Monday evening was 24-year-old Gregory Mark Woledge.
The Tauranga man was the driver of the Toyota van which collided with the Mitsubishi car on the bridge.T
The police officer who helped rescue the passenger from the same van can now be named as Constable Deane O'Connor a member of the strategic traffic unit at Western Bay of Plenty Police.
Bay of Plenty police communications manager Kim Perks said Mr O'Connor was a modest man and the enormity of Monday's events is not lost on him.
He is taking some time to reflect on what occurred.