Teen cousins rescue elderly scooter rider
An 87-year-old woman is calling two teenagers heroes for rescuing her after the mobility scooter she was riding slipped down the side of the footpath and landed on top of her.
Gloria Hassan said she was going back to her room at Bethsaida Retirement Village in Litchfield St about 5pm on Friday afternoon last week after visiting her husband, who lives round the corner in Weld St in another part of the village.
The wheel of her scooter dropped down the side of the footpath. She was thrown off as the scooter rolled and landed on top of her. "Not a soul was about", she said this morning.
She could not get up and was lying on the grass verge for what seemed to be about half an hour before cousins Tevita Kaloni, 14, and Petelo Kaloni, 13, found her on their way home from Marlborough Boys' College.
"They're young gentlemen – I don't call them boys any more," she said.
"They were scared stiff and frightened, but they had the courage to help an elderly woman."
Mrs Hassan was so thankful she wrote a letter to Marlborough Boys' College principal Wayne Hegarty and gave them a $5 reward.
Petelo said he and Tevita did not think twice about helping Mrs Hassan by picking up the scooter and helping her back up.
Mrs Hassan, who has artificial knee and hips joints, was not injured in the fall.
When The Marlborough Express spoke to Petelo's mother, she said he had not told her about the incident.
"It's like a thousand dollars to me that they would do something like that," she said.
Mrs Hassan's husband Lawrie said the two did a marvellous job.
Mrs Hassan still uses her scooter to get around town, but said she had not forgiven it for treating her so badly.
YOUNG HEROES: Cousins Petelo Kaloni, 13, left, and Tevita Kaloni, 14, with Gloria Hassan, whom they helped when she fell off her scooter.
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