Stroud paramedic Bill Rathbone has received a citation of courage after he and nine other paramedics went to the aid of two injured people in a truck accident north of Gloucester in February last year.
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Two semi-trailers went over the edge of the Thunderbolts Way near Giro on February 5, 2014, which resulted in the death of one of the drivers.
It was reported the two trucks were travelling in the same direction along Thunderbolts Way when the truck behind, which was pulling a load of scrap metal, notified the other truck driver after his brakes began to malfunction.
"The truck driver behind radioed the driver in front to say I’ve lost my brakes and the truck in front tried to block him to slow him down," a Westpac Rescue Helicopter spokesman said.
“A trail of debris more than 100m long had been left along the road and it was clear the trucks had attempted to reduce their speed by going up the high side of the embankment several times.
"Unfortunately, at some point they’ve both gone off the low side and over a pretty steep 45 degree incline," he said.
The driver and sole occupant of one of the trucks, a 32-year-old Karuah man, died at the scene.
A 47-year-old man and 51-year-old woman travelling in the second truck were airlifted to John Hunter Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.
Paramedic Rathbone said the first on the scene was an off-duty doctor and paramedic.
“It was nearly an hour before we got there and they provided the initial treatment,” he said.
“But what I did is not something anyone else in uniform would not have done.
“It took nearly three hours to bring the two injured people, who were both in critical conditions, up to the road.
“They had to be put in a stokes litter and pulled up inch by inch.
“It was very uneven footing with lots of scrap metal and car bodies all down the mountain.
“But it wasn’t just me who was involved in the rescue, there was fellow officer Ben Lucock who has since moved to the Newcastle station and Chris Rose and Robert Fitzgerald from Gloucester.
“Police, firies and SES were also on the scene and they assisted in the rescue too.
“Nothing anyone of us did was anything special . . . it’s what we do, it’s our job.”
Bill has been a paramedic for 16 years, with the last six at the Stroud station.
Six other paramedics involved in the rescue also received bravery citations.
