With his bare hands he bent a pillar to wrench open and rip away a car door to get to a trapped Harris, sliding back her car seat and freeing her legs.
“She was more worried about the boys than herself,” he said.
He came back for Giovanni, then Kyson, who were unconscious. He sat with them awhile, gave a statement to police and drove home.
Harris said Keelan “appeared out of nowhere”.
“You couldn’t imagine my relief when someone stopped because no one was stopping. I was hurt and in shock and Giovanni and Kyson weren’t answering. My leg was trapped. I could see the flames. I was screaming,” she said.
All three spent time in hospital after the crash. Howse fared worst with a broken collarbone, fractured sternum and severe concussion.
Chief fire officer Shaun Sayer was among the first emergency responders to the scene, near the Whirokino Bridge south of Foxton. He said members of the public had also stopped to help the driver of the other vehicle.
Mayor of Horowhenua Bernie Wanden, Taina Keelan, and fire officer Shaun Sayer.
Sayer said if it wasn’t for Keelan’s actions that afternoon of January 21 this year, “things could’ve turned out entirely different”.
“The vehicle was only two or three metres away. It could’ve easily caught fire.”
Keelan, who lives in Palmerston North, said he didn’t think too much about it at the time - he was just focused on getting them out of the car. He was tracked down weeks later - his friends responded to calls for his identity - enabling Harris, Giovanni and Kyson to thank him.
Kyson Howse, Taina Keelan, Cath Harris and Giovanni Harris at the presentation ceremony.
They all attended a ceremony at Horowhenua District Council this week to see Keelan receive a Bronze Medal from the Royal Humane Society of New Zealand for his courage, presented by Horowhenua mayor Bernie Wanden.
Royal Humane Society of New Zealand was established in 1898 to honour peacetime acts of bravery, to recognise civilians who risk their lives to save others. Wanden said it was an honour to present Keelan with the award on behalf of the society and Her Excellency the Governor-General of New Zealand.
He described Keelan as a humble and brave young man.
Taina Keelan's medal for bravery.
“The bronze medal being awarded this afternoon represents bravery displayed in rescuing others whose lives are in danger, and is a demonstration of the greatest of human qualities – putting one’s life in danger to save another,” he said.
“Keelan without thoughts for his own safety, went and above and beyond the actions of others, it was his determination and strength that allowed access to the vehicle, returning to pull all three attendants out even though a vehicle very nearby was fully ablaze.”
Wanden quoted author C.S. Lewis: “Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point”.
