A group of young Hamilton men who were first on the scene of a car crash and helped the save the driver's life are upset that police initially took credit for their actions.
On Monday, police reported two of its Hamilton constables were the first to respond when a 62-year-old man who suffered a suspected cardiac arrest drove into the side of a building.
But it was actually Drew Bolli and two of his mates who were first on the scene at around 6pm on Sunday night.
"Out of the blue we saw a white BMW crossing the centre line, the driver looked unconscious, he was slumped over the wheel," Mr Bolli told Newshub.
"He kept picking up pace and that's when we realised he was in trouble. He ploughed straight through the fence and straight into the side of the Target building."
Mr Bolli dialled 111 while his mates pulled the unconscious driver out of the car.
"Once we got him out of the car he started going bright purple, so we put him in the recovery position and that's when almost started siezuring, as such. Luckily one of my mates was a surf life saver so we thought, we better start doing CPR. And that's when about four to five minutes later the police showed up."
The police release on Monday made no mention of Mr Bolli and his friends' heroic deeds. Instead, the release praised the quick actions of two policeman for helping to save the man's life.
"Me and my mates, we're all just feeling a bit ripped off, y'know?" says Mr Bolli. "We didn't have to stop, but we thought we probably should. This guy's in trouble, he needs our help. We saw it, we knew what happened, so we got out and did what we could. People think us young fellas are pretty careless.
"We're extremely proud of what we did - if we didn't do it, it would have been at least another four to five minutes before the cops showed up. We don't expect any credit, but a bit of a mention saying thanks to the young guys that were there, helping out, who actually got him out of the car instead of the police taking credit for something they didn't do."
They were relieved when told the driver had pulled through.
"We're stoked to hear that, because he had the smell of airbag on his hands and we thought it was a death smell."
Police told Newshub late Tuesday afternoon that Monday's release was accurate in regards to the information that they had at the time. Police say another officer clarified shortly afterwards that it was in fact members of the public who pulled the man from the car and placed him in the recovery position, moments before the two constables arrived and commenced CPR.
Mr Bolli and his friends say there were upset to read reports claiming that 'hero' cops had saved the man's life.
"We were a bit gutted and disappointed that they could lie straight to the public. The public think it was the cops, but actually it was some young eyewitnesses, including myself, who had the initiative to go and save this guy's life before the emergency response team took over."
The trio even helped rescue the man's injured dog, which jumped out of the car and ran off in distressed state.
Police have since invited Mr Bolli and his two mates to meet with the 62-year-old's thankful family, as well as the two constables who were initially credited with saving his life.
Newshub.
