Bystander saves child from submerged truck

LIHU‘E — A seven-year-old boy is in critical condition at a Honolulu hospital after nearly drowning when the vehicle he was in overturned into a water-filled ditch near Polihale Beach.

According to a Kaua‘i County news release, a family of three was hospitalized Monday night after their SUV flipped into a ditch, leaving the vehicle partially submerged in water. The accident occurred shortly after 7 p.m., when the 41-year-old Kapa‘a man lost control of his SUV on a long dirt road leading south to the beach.

The driver was able to remove his four-year-old daughter, but his seven-year-old son remained trapped in the car. A bystander, who was driving near the area at the time, heard cries for help and stopped to assist.

The Good Samaritan was able to cut through a seatbelt in order to remove the boy’s unresponsive body from the vehicle and immediately began performing CPR.

The man was able to revive the child before medics and firefighters from the county and the Pacific Missile Range Facility arrived to assist.

All three of the victims were transported to Kaua‘i Veterans Memorial Hospital. The seven-year-old was subsequently medevaced to a hospital on O‘ahu, where he remained in critical condition as of Tuesday afternoon.

Tom Clements, a Navy public affairs manager, said the PMRF Crash Fire station received a call at 7:26 p.m., and responded immediately to assist with a command vehicle, rescue No. 8 and engine No. 12. The response team recovered back to PMRF at 8:38 p.m.

“PMRF’s fire department has a mutual support agreement with Kaua‘i County, and responds when requested for fire, accidents or other emergencies,” Clements said.

Kaua‘i Police Department’s Traffic Safety Section is investigating the cause of the crash. The identity of the Good Samaritan is not being released at this time.