Brave teen rescues stepdad, pals
A quick-thinking teenager has saved the lives of three men, including his step dad, after their boat capsized while yabby fishing near Stawell.
Daniel Hobbson says he is not a hero, but his stepdad, Ben, begs to differ, and so too do authorities who are set to nominate the 17-year-old for a bravery award.
The teenager pulled his struggling 43-year-old mate, Ian, to safety and helped rescue his stepdad and 20-year-old pal, Adrian Pearce, after their boat capsized in the middle of Lake Lonsdale last night.
"It was pretty scary, but nothing else was going through my mind except making sure they were alright," Daniel told 7News.
The 17-year-old was on shore while Ben, his mate Ian and 20-year-old Adrian were in the boat.
"Ian went over to check one of the nets," Adrian explained. "He pulled one of the nets up and a wave hit at the same time and tipped us, capsized the boat."
Adrian clung to a jerry can, and Ben held onto the sinking tinny while Ian tried to swim ashore.
When Daniel realised the men were in trouble, he jumped into the freezing water and began swimming.
"I swam towards the sound of Ian's voice and I finally found him," Daniel said. "He was stuffed, his head was just out of the water.
"He said if I'd taken another minute he'd be done pretty much."
"He saved our lives," Daniel's step dad Ben said. "He's done really well, he's really courageous."
Sergeant Brad Bennett from Ararat Police has described Daniel's actions as heroic.
"I know he's playing it down but without him, one of the gentlemen would be dead for sure," he told the ABC.
"He'd given up and it was only because he saw Daniel in close proximity that he thought he'd try and hang on for a couple more minutes.
"Without Daniel, that man would have drowned."
It was the first time the group had been yabby fishing at Lake Lonsdale and they hadn't checked the weather.
The tinny was 800 metres from shore when conditions suddenly became dangerous, and although there were life jackets on board, none of the men were wearing one.
All four men were treated for hypothermia.
