Hawke’s Bay woman potentially owes life to policeman who rescued her from car crash

A seriously hurt Hawke’s Bay woman potentially owes her life to a local policeman’s willingness to spring into action at any time – even on his days off.

Senior Constable Tony Maultsaid had been relaxing at home this month when a knock echoed on his front door at 8.30pm.

It was the woman’s sister, saying her sibling had failed to return home from work despite finishing hours earlier.

Although on a day off, Maultsaid acted quickly.

Hawke's Bay police officer Tony Maultsaid's quick actions saved a badly hurt woman, who had driven off a 35m embankment. Photo / Supplied

He sent the woman’s sister back to the family’s house in case the woman showed up and then called around the area looking for her.

When the calls were unsuccessful, he decided he would drive on the same route she would have taken home from her workplace.

By this time it was dark and so Maultsaid took it slowly, looking closely for any trace of the woman.

Twenty minutes out of Wairoa he spotted a trace of a tyre mark that was so faint he almost drove past without noticing it.

The tracks headed off a 35-metre embankment.

Calling Fire and Emergency New Zealand and the ambulance, Maultsaid headed down the embankment, where he found the woman with serious injuries.

“Her leg was trapped under the vehicle, so her leg was injured, and she also had a badly injured shoulder, broken ribs and had taken a big knock to the head,” he said.

The woman spent up to five hours trapped under her car. Photo / Supplied

He kept her company until Gisborne emergency teams arrived and enlisted him to help in the rescue.

Yet the job wasn’t over – the teams still had to find a way to winch the woman up the vertical bank on a stretcher.

Maultsaid said it was possible the woman had been trapped in her vehicle down the bank for up to five hours.

Eastern District Deployment Co-ordinator Senior Sergeant Steve Nicoll says without Maultsaid going above and beyond, the woman could have been trapped overnight.

“With temperatures dropping and the potential for shock to set in, this job could have had a very different outcome,” Nicoll said.

Maultsaid said he was only doing his duty but did admit to going to sleep that night with a sense of pride and happiness that the woman was safe in hospital.

Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.