Pride of NZ Awards: Biker's intuition proves lifesaver

Elliot Ikilei's motorbike was destroyed by a truck after he parked it behind the car with its hazard lights on to warn other drivers. Picture / Richard Robinson

Tutor saves driver and her aged parents after car broke down on motorway in hard-to-see spot in appalling weather.

Bravery & Heroism category: As motorcyclist Elliot Ikilei rode past a vehicle broken down in the fast lane on the motorway, something told him to turn back.

The 37-year-old, of Papakura, had been on his way home, last August, when he just missed a car that had got into trouble on the Southwestern Motorway near Hillsborough.

"The weather was really bad and the power was out, so visibility was bad - I only noticed the car when I got close to it."

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Mr Ikilei stopped about 200m up the road. "I kept getting a feeling - like someone was tapping my shoulder - telling me to go back."

As he walked back towards the car, Mr Ikilei yelled to the driver to get out and that she was in a dangerous situation. But then Mr Ikilei noticed two figures in the backseat - the driver's elderly parents.

"I just screamed for them to get out. Where they were parked, you just could not see them clearly. Every single car that came by locked their brakes. It was very dangerous."

He pulled the driver out and yelled at her to get the others out. Once they were safely on the side of the road, he started to wave down vehicles to warn them. He then got his motorbike, parked it behind the car and turned on the bike's hazard lights.

"About three or four minutes after that, a truck came along. He put his brakes on, but it was too late."

The truck destroyed the motorbike and then ricocheted off several other vehicles. No one was hurt.

Mr Ikilei said the family became emotional, realising what could have been had they not got out.

Last year, Mr Ikilei, a father of one and a tutor at the Best Pacific Institute in Manukau, was among 90 people honoured at the Police Auckland metro bravery awards.

"I don't think I'm a hero. I was just doing something that had to be done."

For more coverage of the awards, go here or to nominate someone, go to the Pride of New Zealand Awards website.