Erindale College student Shane Allen ''wasn't really thinking'' when he saw 13-year-old Jeysun Bilgin being swept through a stormwater drain in Isabella Plains two weeks ago; he just knew he had to act quickly.
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Jeysun, a year 8 student at Calwell High, had been riding his bike next to the drain by the Calwell shops when he slipped in.
In a matter of what he thinks was about two or three minutes, he had been swept about two kilometres down the drain; under Johnson Drive, under Ashley Drive, and heading for Isabella Drive when Shane spotted him.
''[I thought] 'oh god, help him', there was no way around it - I just had to do something, I couldn't just sit there,'' the 18-year-old said of his actions.
He ditched his own bike and crawled down the steep cement slope, linking his arm through a ladder, reaching out for Jeysun with his other hand.
''I was strong enough to hold on [to the ladder] - I almost dislocated my arm when I was trying to grab Jeysun out, but just lucky all went well.''
After learning of his student's actions, Erindale College principal Michael Hall has nominated Shane for an Australian Bravery Award.
But his potentially life-saving action almost went unacknowledged after he left the scene without a fuss once he knew Jeysun was unhurt.
''He had no idea who [his rescuer] was and I had no one to thank,'' Jeysun's mother, Nicole Rengers, said.
She started the search for her son's ''guardian angel'' through social media, eventually discovering through the school's network that it was Shane, a former Calwell High student, who rescued her son.
''I really do believe he [Jeysun] would have died,'' she said. ''It's like he was a guardian angel. He was just there at the right time.''