Tauranga Harbour crash: Builder uses hammer to smash window and drag man from sinking car

Flowers at the site of the Chaple St crash. Photo / George Novak

A builder labelled a hero after freeing a man from a submerged car in Tauranga Harbour was in tears after learning the desperate rescue attempt wasn't enough to save a woman also trapped in the vehicle.

Daniel Lamberth didn't hesitate when he saw the 2018 Hyundai Kona plunge into the harbour.

He grabbed a hammer from his work van and leapt into the water after the sinking vehicle.

Two days later, he was in a car crash himself which left him with cuts, grazes and a concussion - "nothing at all compared" to the crash that took the life of Maree Geary.

Lamberth's quick thinking last Wednesday saved the life of a man who was trapped inside and thought he was going to die in the submerged car.

The rescued man, Shane Carnell, described Lamberth's actions that day as "incredible" and heroic, and the rescue came just in time to save his life.

Carnell's partner, Geary, was also in the car but rescuers were unable to save her.

Maree Geary, 65, died after her car entered the Tauranga Harbour last Wednesday. Photo / File

Lamberth worked near the fatal crash site on Chapel St and watched the car enter the water. He described witnessing the car plummet into the harbour as a scene "not like real life".

He ran towards the crash along with several other strangers.

"I just asked if there were people in the car. My van was parked close so I grabbed a hammer and just went into the water with some others."

Initially, he had no concerns for his safety. "I don't think anyone really thought about it".

Lamberth smashed the window and pulled Carnell out of the vehicle to safety, and another man swam him back to shore.

"It was definitely a relief, but when we managed to sit him up and talk to him, we heard there was still someone in the car."

Rescuers in the water on Chapel St in the Tauranga Harbour. Photo / Supplied

He said it was an "awful" feeling to hear that not everyone was out.

"We were trying to swim to get to the car but none of us could really swim against the current."

He said a few of them stuck their feet under either the roof racks or in the open window to hold them in place.

Someone had a surfboard that was put into the water for the rescuers to take turns to rest.

When firefighters arrived, the rescuers tied a rope to the car and used this to pull themselves closer to the car.

Some people had gone to a store nearby to get goggles.

"No one could really see, even the people with goggles, it was too murky."

Shane Carnell (left) is Maree Geary's partner and Josh Geary is her son. Photo / George Novak

Lamberth said pulling Maree from the car was "the scariest part".

He held the surfboard in place as her body was placed on it and taken towards the rocks.

They all continued to go back and forth to the car for "quite a while" as they were unsure if anyone else was still in there.

"I had a bit of a cry afterwards, I was pretty upset," he said.

"We didn't have long enough to get her out ... we all tried our best."

He said he wasn't a hero, and anyone who was in his shoes would have done the same thing.

A St John ambulance spokeswoman said three others were injured as a result of the crash and were treated at the scene.