A Cobar man along with two former Cobar residents were presented with bravery awards in a ceremony at Government House Sydney last Wednesday.
His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retired), Governor of NSW presented bravery medals to Charles ‘Tom’ Mitchell, Katie Abbott and Brock Lawrence for their involvement in the rescue of a man from a burning vehicle in March 2014.
Mr Mitchell was travelling on Forest Road near Dubbo on March 27 when he came across a vehicle that had hit a tree.
The vehicle was on fire and a man was trapped inside.
Mr Mitchell stopped to render assistance.
Ms Abbott and Mr Lawrence, former Cobar residents who live on a property near the accident scene, drove to the scene after hearing the crash.
The trio managed to cut the trapped driver out of the burning car and pull him to safety.
Ms Abbott then rendered first aid to the driver who had been badly burned in the accidents.
The driver survived with significant burns and injuries while Mr Mitchell and Mr Lawrence both suffered burns to their hands while trying to rescue the man.
“For their actions, they displayed considerable bravery,” Governor General Hurley said of Mr Mitchell, Mr Lawrence and Ms Abbott.
