Father's anguish as he saves wife, not son

A man has revealed how he abandoned a bid to rescue his teenage son to save his screaming wife after their car plunged into a river in New Zealand. Stacy Horton rescued his partner Vanessa, 35, as their 13-year-old boy Silva drowned in the Whanganui River on North Island.

The father said he arrived at the scene minutes after the family's Mazda MPV station wagon skidded down a grassy bank, over a 10-metre cliff and into the water.



He heard his wife screaming in the darkness and could see his son's friend and the family dog scrambling up the bank. But Silva was trapped inside the submerged car.

Mr Horton said he had tried to dive down to the vehicle, which was pointing engine first into the water with the tail lights shining more than 3ft below the surface. "I tried to get down and get him but I couldn't - it was just too deep. And Vanessa was going under," the father said.



"I made a call to pull my wife to safety. I looked back and I could see the tail lights but it was too far and I couldn't get him. Instead of going down and risking my life as well as my wife and son's, I chose to take V(anessa) back and sat on the shore praying. It was all I could do."

The emergency services were also unable to rescue the boy from inside the vehicle. Police spokeswoman Kim Perks said it was a very tough call for Mr Horton. "I would certainly not have wanted to be in his shoes," she said.