87-year-old Pambula man escapes drowning after scooter crash

It was early evening and Dennis was on his way home in Pambula. He was heading north on the path alongside the Princes Highway passing by the Bendigo Bank, before turning left into Oregon St where he lives.

At the highway end, Oregon St is little more than a bush track providing access to three homes, and a thoroughfare between the highway, Pambula Public School and Shorebreakers Preschool. Not far along the track there's a creek which has a culvert over it, after which the track rises quite steeply.

"I was coming home and it had been raining and on the western side (the upper section) it had got a bit wet," Dennis said.

"The scooter skidded a bit and so I came down to have another go (at the hill). I went over the culvert and finished in the creek," Dennis said.

Although the water level was only 40-50cm deep it represented a serious threat to Dennis who wasn't able to lift himself out of the slippery and water-filled creek.

"I was using my arms to try and prop myself up and I only had my eyes, nose and mouth just out of the water," Dennis said.

Dennis reckoned he was in the water for about half an hour.

"I was getting to the stage where I wondered how quick would it be to drown. When I put my head under water I thought how long would I fight against it."

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But there's no doubt that Dennis is a fighter and he said he "roared and roared" for help.

Dennis' brother, Bob and his wife, live in the house closest to the creek.

"The dog started barking and we thought it was because of the kangaroos but the barking was different, almost like screaming and so my wife went out to have a look and heard the yelling coming from the culvert," Bob said.

With the help of neighbours they got Dennis out of the creek and called an ambulance.

"I was wet and cold. I was close to dying," Dennis said, but he still reckons he's lucky.

"It was lucky the scooter landed where it did. If it had rolled over and finished up on top of me I wouldn't have been able to move it. That would have been it."

In fact the scooter survived remarkably with a couple of repairs needed but still usable.

Bob said the well-used track is Crown Land, and so council isn't responsible for it's upkeep but he did send a letter to council outlining what had happened.

"Robert complained to council and they came with star pickets and netting. They made a good job of it," Dennis said, but would like to see it gravelled.

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