Australian journalist abandons flood report to rescue driver from sinking car just in time
The reporter was accompanied by a bystander who swam all the way to the car to pull the vulnerable man out of the door.
On a waterlogged stretch in Morayfield, north of Brisbane, ABC reporter Will Murray was broadcasting live updates on the torrential downpour when he noticed an SUV sweeping off the tarmac. The car was sinking rapidly into the debris-filled culvert. Murray realized that the driver was trapped, unable to open the door against the crushing currents. Without a moment of hesitation, Murray and a bystander rushed to the edge near a pole. Straddling waist-deep in the churning swell, they pulled the shaken driver out to safety, according to an October 22, 2026 report and footage shared by ABC News.
The close escape
Murray was reporting for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) at Buchanan Road when the fatal incident took place. The SUV was sinking very fast, and “there was no thinking involved,” as he described to the BBC. Liz Pickering, the camera operator, asked him if he could see the driver and if he thought that he could get free. Murray said that initially he could see him, but within seconds he disappeared, and he took the call to jump in. Had he waited for another few minutes, the car driver might have drowned. "Better that you jump in and give it a crack," Murray thought.
According to the footage shared by media outlets, Murray and the other man tried to break the car’s rear windscreen to reach the driver. But they had to hop to the side, where they opened the door to pull him out to safety. "When we got to the car, we tried to open the closest door; no luck, then got on the back of the car with the thought of breaking the back window," Murray described. He then jolted the passenger-side rear door open, put his feet against the car, and pulled the door with all his might. Thanks to the rushing waters, the pressure enabled the door to swing open. The good Samaritans then pulled out the man, and all of them swam away from the car moments before it was completely submerged.
Massive deluge
According to The Australian, Queensland was caught off guard after a deluge of rain about 300 per cent higher than forecast hit the town. The Bureau of Meteorology predicted about 15mm to 50mm of rain in parts of Brisbane, but it ended up close to 270mm. Notifications were then sent by the authorities that flash floods could occur in the area. In Morayfield, between 170mm (6.7 inches) and 190mm (7.5 inches) of rain triggered flash floods within six hours. Consequently, the Morayfield Shopping Centre and nine schools were closed, and thousands of homes were left without power. "The pair of them definitely saved that man's life," said Pickering, who witnessed the incident, per Reuters. "It was very scary, but happy everyone is safe and relieved it is OK," said Murray, probably sighing with relief, and added, "The adrenaline is still very, very high. I don't know how people do this regularly."
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