STROUD paramedic Bill Rathbone has received a citation of courage after he and nine other paramedics went to the aid of two people injured in a truck crash north of Gloucester in February last year.
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Two semi-trailers carrying scrap metal went over the edge of the Thunderbolts Way near Giro on February 5, 2014, which resulted in the death of one of the drivers.
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.
Officer Rathbone said the first people on the scene were an off-duty doctor and a 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 for emergency service crews to bring the two injured people up to the road.
“They had to be put in a Stokes litter and pulled up inch by inch,” officer Rathbone said.
“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 a couple of guys 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.