September 27, 2017
Four Army officers who pulled an elderly man out of a burning car near Mt Binga last year have been honoured by Queensland Police.
Captain Gary Hamilton, Captain Warren Wilton, 2nd Lieutenant Ingrid Dylan and Lieutenant Michael Tenkate have been awarded the Commissioner’s Certificate of Appreciation for their actions in trying to save the 85-year-old man’s life.
Two army helicopters were on a night-vision exercise from Oakey base when they spotted a burning vehicle through night vision goggles about 6:45pm on July 21, 2016.
The car had run off a winding dirt road, hit a tree and burst into flames.
The incident occurred near the intersection of Middleton Road and Pierces Creek Road, just east of Mt Binga National Park.
The helicopter carrying Captain Hamilton and then-Officer Cadet Dylan landed in a nearby paddock and rushed to the wrecked vehicle.
The critically injured man was trapped in a window of the vehicle, which was well alight, when they arrived.
The Army officers pulled the man from the burning wreck and then smothered flames on the man’s clothes.
The second helicopter also landed nearby and the officers provided first aid until paramedics and a rescue helicopter arrived.
The RACQ LifeFlight’s Toowoomba helicopter arrived about 8:00pm but had difficulty landing nearby due to the rough terrain.
A LifeFlight critical care doctor and QAS flight paramedic climbed through a barbed wire fence and carried their equipment 500 metres along a dirt road to reach the badly burned man, who was in a very serious condition with burns to about 50 per cent of his body.
The LifeFlight crew worked to stabilise him before transferring him to a road ambulance for a short trip to a nearby paddock where the helicopter had relocated because it had road access.
The man was then airlifted to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in a critical condition.
Sadly, he died in hospital the following day.
Captain Hamilton accepted the certificates at the Empire Theatre in Toowoomba on Tuesday on behalf of his colleagues from Police Minister Mark Ryan and Queensland Police Commissioner Ian Stewart.
Related articles:
