Hero who helped

By Lia Bichel
A DOVETON man credits his instinct for saving a woman who attempted to commit suicide in April this year.
Lendyl Borgonah, 25, was one of 21 people in Victoria who received a bravery award from The Royal Humane Society of Australasia last week.
“I feel proud to have won, but anyone would have done the same thing,” he said.
“It was my instinct.”
At 8.15pm on 5 April, Mr Borgonah was driving on Power Road, Doveton, crossing the Monash Freeway overpass when he saw a woman hanging on the outer eastern rail of the bridge, dangling over the Monash Freeway.
He did a U-turn, parked his car and called his girlfriend and asked her to meet him at Power Road before going to the aid of the woman, who was hanging by her hands, hysterical, suffering depression and affected by alcohol.
Her dog was on the footpath nearby.
“I asked her if she was all right and she told me she had a lot of problems. She was intoxicated,” he said.
“It was my instinct to grab her and pull her up. I was more worried about the woman and didn’t realise that her dog was biting me until I saw tear marks on my pants afterwards,” he said.
“A couple of other people stopped to help and one person called the cops. The woman tried to run away and jump again, but I grabbed on to her. When my girlfriend arrived we sat the woman in her car until the police arrived.”
Mr Borgonah said he was “shaken up” by the incident and tried not to think about it.
He said he didn’t think of himself as a hero but was proud to be recognised by The Royal Humane Society of Australasia.
“Anyone would have done the same things as me – I just happened to see her first,” he said.
“I just hope the woman is okay and she has had some positive changes in her life.”