By Victoria Stone-meadows
CRANBOURNE resident Corey Zarth has been awarded an honour for bravery after rescuing a baby from a burning car in Queensland.
Mr Zarth has been awarded a medal for bravery by the Governor- General of Australia General Sir Peter Cosgrove on Wednesday 17 August for his quick thinking and selfless actions.
On 14 November 2013, Mr Zarth was driving his truck on Cunningham Highway near Aratula, inland from the Gold Coast, when another truck in front of him crashed into a sedan.
The car was pushed almost 100 metres along the road, causing the car to burst into flames.
Upon approaching the car, Mr Zarth and another man realised the female driver of the car was unconscious while a nine-month-old baby was fastened in the back seat.
The truck’s fuel tank had ruptured, spilling diesel over the roadway, and the car and the truck engines were both ablaze.
Mr Zarth and the other man removed the baby from the booster seat in the back of the car and the former put out the flames with a fire extinguisher.
The baby was taken a safe distance from the wreckage until the arrival of emergency services, but the female driver could not be removed from the vehicle due to the heat of the fire.
Sadly, the female driver Sharee Harvey, 21, did not survive the accident, but her infant daughter was released from hospital two days later, thanks to the acts of Mr Zarth and the other Good Samaritan.
Mr Zarth is one of 25 people who have been awarded a bravery medal from the Governor-General in 2016 and will receive his medal at a future ceremony.
