"I'd Do It All Again..."
10 February 2009
A Territorial Force soldier who helped at the scene of a serious motor vehicle accident involving young children believes her military training stood her in good stead throughout the incident.
CA commendation recipient Sue Harrison with her husband SSGT Mark Harrison (QAMR) daughter Casey and son Tayla (WN 09-0001-01).
Sue Harrison, a civilian catering HR manager at Burnham Camp, TF sergeant and Army softball player, has been awarded a Chief of Army commendation for her actions at the time of, and after, the horrific accident.
In August 2006 a woman and her three children, one of whom was a baby, were travelling on State Highway 75 from Taitapu in Christchurch. They were towing a trailer containing timber, and when the trailer became unstable their vehicle overturned and slid along the road on its side. Mrs Harrison and her son, who was 13 at the time, had been for a run and were driving home, travelling in the opposite direction.
She saw the accident happen and was one of the first people on the scene. She approached the vehicle, quickly assessed what had happened and removed the unharmed baby from the vehicle, passing her to her son.
On discovering the extent of the boys’ injuries, and realising that one of the two was pinned down at the arm by the overturned vehicle, Mrs Harrison removed her shirt and used it to apply pressure to the extensive wounds of the child who was able to be cleared from the vehicle. “I was on the side of the road in my bra and shorts for several hours but it didn’t worry me at the time – it had to be done.”
While other passers-by freed the trapped child and rendered assistance, Mrs Harrison applied a tourniquet to the boy’s mangled arm and reassured the injured child for about half an hour until medical assistance arrived. She then remained with him while ambulance staff dealt with his injuries for a further 20-30 minutes, and provided comfort and reassurance to him by travelling to hospital with him in the ambulance until he reached surgery.
“The mother asked me to go in the ambulance with him as she wanted to stay with her other son because she thought he was going to die. I was fine about going with him; the firemen looked after my son at the scene and took him home with them.”
Chief of Army, MAJGEN Lou Gardiner said Mrs Harrison’s quick thinking, calm demeanour and compassion in the face of a traumatic accident scene provided comfort to both the injured child and his mother, who was able to focus her attention on the second seriously injured son.
“Her actions, though not perhaps defined as bravery, displayed both physical and mental courage and a clear disregard for her own personal interests and plans at the time. Her selflessness from when the accident first happened through to handover at the hospital embodies the Army ethos and values and the NZDF civilian staff code of conduct expected of all service members.”
Mrs Harrison said she needed counselling after the accident, and was off work for a week. She has stayed in touch with the family.
“I just used my common sense really, and being in Defence, you know what to do. It was traumatic, I must admit, but I’d do it all again if I had to.”