Amid the furore over Sky News presenter Peter Stefanovic’s controversial on-air question to Million Dollar Fish competition winner Keegan Payne, a woman has come forward to share a touching act he and his friends performed for her family when they were stranded after of a car accident.
Sarrita King, an artist from Darwin, told her followers on Sunday what happened when she and her family collided with a pair of buffalo on the way home from Katherine, in the Northern Territory, late last year.
Ms King said they were “totally stranded” on the side of the road after her mother’s car was totaled in the incident before Mr Payne and his friends provided invaluable help.
Payne, 19, made national headlines when he caught a barramundi worth $1 million in Katherine, 317 kilometers south of Darwin, in late April.
But his momentous victory was overshadowed when Stefanovic interviewed the teenager on Wednesday and caught him in the act about an alleged past robbery.
Sarrita King, a Darwin artist, (pictured) shared her heartwarming story about Million Dollar Fish winner and his friends, who she later described as “heroes”.
Keegan Payne (pictured, left) helped tow Ms King’s (pictured, right) vehicle after she and her mother collided with a pair of buffaloes. The car was destroyed, leaving the family stranded until colleagues arrived and helped.
Some viewers called for the journalist’s resignation following harsh questioning that led Stefanovic to issue a humiliating apology.
Darwin’s mother never referenced the interview in her video, but said she had “the best story of the week” and posted it with the hashtags “goodnewsstories,” “keeganpayne” and “legend.”
“These kids came and towed us to safety,” he said.
‘So it was an hour out of their time, they unhitched a buggy, they were on their way to fish the Million Dollar Bar, and they were absolutely incredible.
“Today, they restored my partner and I’s faith in children.”
King said the friends made her and her family feel “really safe.”
“For a terrible situation, the car crashed, they were the best,” he said.
“At that moment we thought, ‘I hope these guys have the best life,’ they have a lot going for them.”
The artist then expressed her surprise that one of the teenagers she had helped won the award that changed her life.
Keegan Payne with his huge $1 million prize after catching a tagged barramundi in the long-running competition, which was his first win in nine fishing seasons.
Keegan Payne (center in photo) and her family were emotional after the big, life-changing win. The artist said that he deserves the award and believes that he will be “someone in the future”
“We have been delighted with him ever since,” he said.
‘And we just can’t stop smiling and thinking about it.
‘So congratulations and how’s that for Darwin?’ Like good karma.’
The mother’s followers showed overwhelming support for the teenager and called the artist’s video a “beautiful story.”
“Darwin children have hearts of gold,” wrote one.
“His story keeps getting better and better, I think he will be a true Australian icon,” said another.
Since then, her mother has told her New Testament News Payne came across as a “wonderful” young man.
“He was kind, he spoke with pride about being from Katherine, where I’m from too, so we talked about that,” she said.
“He talked about his family and his love of fishing; it was exactly what you want to be like for your own child at that age.”
Ms. King called the teenagers “true heroes,” confident and “calm.”
The artist also said that the teenager deserved his victory.
“The way he’s handled himself through everything, he’s going to be someone in the future; with all the pressure and all the scrutiny, his head is screwed,” he said. New Testament News.