TV Reporter Dives In – Rescues Drowning Man

Flooded underpass with stranded cars in muddy water — Photo: Gareth_Bargate / Shutterstock

As a four-wheel-drive sank in Queensland floodwater, a TV reporter swam in and helped pull the driver out moments before the car vanished.

Story Snapshot

Reporter Will Murray and a bystander reached a sinking car and freed the driver.
ABC camera operator Liz Pickering filmed the rescue and said it saved the man’s life.
The rescue happened on Buchanan Road in Morayfield amid heavy rain and flash flooding.
Officials had warned people to stay out of floodwater due to extreme danger.

A rescue unfolds on a flooded suburban road

Will Murray, a reporter with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, was covering flood damage on Buchanan Road in Morayfield when a four-wheel-drive stalled and began to sink. He handed his phone to his camera operator, Liz Pickering, and entered the water. Another man joined him. Together they reached the vehicle, opened a rear passenger door, and pulled the driver free as the car slipped under the surface. Pickering filmed the scene and later credited the pair with saving the man’s life.

Footage described by outlets shows Murray and the bystander swimming to the vehicle and extracting the driver just before it disappeared. Reports identified the location as north of Brisbane and noted a fast-rising flood after a burst of severe rain. The driver’s name was not released in those accounts, but the scene showed urgency and tight timing. Reuters described the moment-by-moment dash and the vehicle’s full submersion seconds after the extraction.

What Murray says happened in the water

Murray later gave a direct account that matches the footage summaries. He said he swam to the car, tried a door that would not open, then forced the rear passenger door. He and the other rescuer then helped the driver toward shallow water and safety. He described the choice as instinctive in a life-or-death moment, not as a model for others to follow in flood conditions. His timeline explains why the door choice mattered under water pressure.

Reports agree on the key details: two rescuers, one trapped driver, and a vehicle that vanished soon after the pull. Outlets consistently located the event at Buchanan Road in Morayfield. They described a stalled four-wheel-drive that tipped from stuck to sinking in less than a news segment. Multiple stories referenced heavy local rainfall and rising water that turned a familiar road into a hazard zone. The second rescuer has not been named in those reports.

The danger backdrop: why flood rescues turn fast

Queensland authorities warn bluntly: do not drive, walk, or swim in floodwater. State emergency guides say driving into floodwater is the leading cause of flood-related deaths in Queensland. The message is simple and repeated: “If it’s flooded, forget it.” Shallow moving water can knock you off balance, hide road damage, and trap a vehicle that seemed fine seconds earlier. Official safety advice exists because these events escalate with little margin for error.

WATCH: A TV reporter dives into raging floodwaters to save a driver trapped inside a sinking SUV, pulling the person to safety just moments before the vehicle disappears underwater.

ABC journalist Will Murray and another bystander swim toward the vehicle in Morayfield,… pic.twitter.com/dRrU7N3arB

— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 22, 2026

This rescue sits at the hard edge of that warning. The driver’s decision to enter flooded roadway set the stage for a high-risk extraction. Two civilians then faced the same water that authorities say to avoid. Personal courage mattered, and so did timing, but so did luck and physics. The video shows a save; the rule still stands. The safest rescue is the one never needed because the driver turned around in the first place.

What the footage teaches for the next storm

Disaster reporting often shows the worst five minutes. This one shows a narrow path to life. The sequence underlines a few clear lessons. First, cars sink faster than you think in murky floodwater. Second, doors jam under water pressure; side or rear entries can be the only way. Third, bystanders can make a difference, but that does not make floodwater safe. Officials repeat the same advice because it saves more lives across a season than any single brave swim.