It was a case of right place, right time for two Maitland teenagers who rushed to the aid of an alleged stabbing victim.
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![Help at hand: St John Ambulance cadets Grace (pictured) and Nick Ahrens helped an alleged stabbing victim in Maitland. Picture: Simone De Peak Help at hand: St John Ambulance cadets Grace (pictured) and Nick Ahrens helped an alleged stabbing victim in Maitland. Picture: Simone De Peak](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/tmUaC97GWTfBTvbgiBtbEs/3d0f5cb4-1a8c-43d1-8836-748994fc2608.jpg/r0_392_5184_3318_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Siblings Grace and Nick Ahrens were passing through Pender Place on Monday evening, on their way to a St John Ambulance branch meeting, when they heard that someone had been injured nearby. Grace, 15, and Nick, 17, didn’t hesitate to respond.
They found a 52-year-old man with two puncture wounds to his abdomen trying to change a tyre in the shopping centre car park.
Grace, a Cadet Corporal with the renowned volunteer first aid group, and her brother – a Cadet Sergeant – helped the man until paramedics arrived.
“I asked the man if he was alright – he had blood on his shirt,” Grace said.
“He lifted his shirt and I could see two puncture wounds, so I went to the car, got a first-aid kit and applied pressure.”
Several passers-by stopped to offer help.
Nick said it was one of the most serious incidents they had responded to since signing up as St John volunteers five years ago.
“It’s lucky we had the training, so we knew what to do to help,” he said.
When confronted with the emergency, Grace said her training kicked in.
“Normally, if it’s at [an event], we’re prepared with oxygen and the right equipment, but [on Monday] it was really just a small first aid kit in the car that we had to help us,” she said.
“We had to think on our feet, which made it a little bit more challenging.”
Despite the unplanned detour, Grace and Nick made it to their St John meeting – albeit an hour and a half late.
“I was quite emotional, I had blood up my arms but I went to the meeting and scrubbed up alright,” Grace said.
The 52-year-old was taken to hospital and treated for non life threatening injuries.
Police arrested and charged a 46-year-old man with reckless wounding on Monday night. It’s believed the 52-year-old allegedly suffered the injuries after an altercation in the Pender Place car park.