Head Boy Heroics

17 year old Marlborough Boys’ College Head Boy, Angus Pauley, is being hailed a hero after rescuing a 12 year old girl from a flooded river.
Angus was in the car with his mother on the way to school when they passed the Taylor River in Blenheim which was heavily flooded.
On the way Angus spotted a girl in the floodwater trying to push her bike across the footbridge.
The water was up to her waist when Angus got out of the car and called out to see if she was alright. The 12 year old girl was panicked and said that she needed her mum.
Knowing something was wrong, Angus raced down to the river bank, but by then the girl’s bike was gone and she was being swept down the river.
Angus began running alongside her, yelling for her to keep her head up and assuring her she was going to be alright.
When the river dipped, the girl got sucked under, resurfacing a few seconds later, gurgling and screaming. Angus stripped down to his underwear to prepare to jump in.
The teen was reluctant to get in the water in case he too got stranded in the water, luckily he came across Jeremy MacKenzie, a Blenheim multisport champion who was on his way to work.
Angus asked if Jeremy would watch while he rescued the girl in case he got into trouble.
Angus quickly dove in and reached the panicked girl and began towing her back to the bank where Jeremy waited.
However, the weight of the girl’s backpack and heavy uniform landed all three of them back in the water.
Together Jeremy an Angus managed to get the girl to the bank and up to the road where the police had just arrived.
Angus and the girl were taken to Wairau Hospital and all three are unharmed and safe.
Article written by  D Mulhern










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