Members of a fitness group in WA’s north have been given police bravery awards after they saved a young child from an alleged attempted drowning by his father last month.
Key points:
- Eleven members of the public were recognised by Karratha police for their bravery
- Three women were awarded for the efforts with a young boy
- The mother of the boy attended the event to thank the women for their actions
Eleven people were commended in a short ceremony hosted by Karratha police on Tuesday morning, less than 20 kilometres from where they last month witnessed a 26-year-old Nickol man allegedly driving into the water at Dampier Foreshore and attempting to drown his son.
Three local women – Shona Langfield, Gemma Burrow-Smith and Natalie Love – who were in an outdoor fitness class nearby witnessed the incident.
‘Mumma-bear’ instinct
Ms Langfield said it felt like the women were in the right place at the right time.
“We were meant to be there that day,” she said.
The three women, who each have children, said they had acted on instinct.
“We didn’t think about what we were doing, you just had to do it,” Ms Burrow-Smith said.
“It was mumma-bear instinct. You would hope someone would do it for your own child.”
The child’s mother attended the ceremony to thank the women for saving her son.
‘Very brave little boy’
Pilbara Superintendent Gailene Hamilton presented the bravery awards to the three women, also thanking the other members of the fitness group for their courage in calling emergency services.
“Bravery is a really big thing, a quality that for most of you on that day was something very frightening that most people in their everyday lives would never come across,” she said.
The 26-year-old Nickol man is facing a string of charges including one count of attempted murder, two counts of assault with intent to commission a crime and one count of reckless driving in relation to the incident.
He is due to appear in Stirling Gardens Magistrates court on November 8.