Puni crash survivors share hero rescue story after car burst into flames

A woman has described how her hero partner saved her and his sister from a horror, burning wreck after their car hit a tree in Auckland.

“I still freak out when I remember the moment in the car,” Nerrisa Simeon told the Herald, recalling the crash on Rogers Rd in Puni last month.

“Me being stuck, unable to move... terrified of what just happened.”

Semi Lalahi (right) comforting his partner, Nerrisa Simeon, at Middlemore Hospital after surviving a horror car crash in Puni, Auckland. Photo / Nerrisa Simeon

Simeon, her partner, Semi Lalahi, and his sister were on a road trip when they took a turn on Rogers Rd and the car began to slide, colliding with the tree.

“My sister-in-law was in the front passenger seat, I was sitting behind her and my partner was driving,” she said.

“My partner pulled himself out while covered in blood, and he came to our side.”

Lalahi rescued his sister first by ripping the door off the car.

“At this point, the car had started to smoke up, there were flames coming out of the engine,” Simeon said.

“He came back for me. I was stuck but he tried his hardest and got me out. Then he asked the bystanders to help him carry me away.”

Lalahi told the Herald he just tried to keep himself calm in a terrifying situation.

“I felt a rush. I forced myself to stand up, and pull my whole body out. I tried my best to stand up. There were just emotions a whole lot of emotions running through me. I just kept it together.”

What was left of the car after it caught fire in Puni, near Pukekohe. Photo / Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust

Police said they were called to the crash about 3.30pm on February 20.

“I couldn’t really see, I was unable to move, my neck was broken they told me,” Simeon said.

“They put me on a stretcher, lifted me on to a car and put me on a helicopter. I was flown to Middlemore Hospital.”

Simeon said she has since had two serious surgeries for her neck and broken ribs, the third one scheduled was for a torn abdomen.

“My sister-in-law has a brain bleed and a broken pelvis. She is in Auckland Hospital,” she explained.

Simeon was thankful all three had survived the crash.

“My partner saved us, if it wasn’t for him we wouldn’t be here today. he forced himself out to get us.”

The couple has a nine-month-old daughter who was at her grandmother’s at the time of the accident, Simeon said.

Two Givealittle pages have been started to help recover from the crash.

“The fundraiser is helping us a lot, we will need all the help we can get after we get out of the hospital as well. We are grateful for all the support we have got so far,” the couple said.