2022 Royal Life Saving Bravery Awards

Everyday community members who’ve performed outstanding acts of bravery have been recognised at the 2022 Royal Life Saving Bravery Awards.

Having received a record number of nominations, 75 local heroes were honoured during this year’s ceremony attended by His Excellency the Honourable Chris Dawson APM, Governor of Western Australia. 

The 2022 awards acknowledged a variety of Western Australians, including children, who have taken extraordinary actions to save, or attempt to save, another person’s life. 37 police officers were also recognised for exceptional rescues, both in the line of work and while off duty.

Royal Life Saving WA’s President Vaughan Davies says each award recipient displayed exceptional courage in emergency situations, sometimes at risk to themselves. 

“These individuals are an excellent example to all Western Australians and show how vitally important it is to obtain lifesaving skills. They’ve applied their skills to save another’s life, showing bravery and commitment in doing so, and deserve our highest recognition.” 

“I encourage everyone to think about how they might, in their own way, contribute to drowning prevention and saving lives. It may be to improve your own skills in CPR, first aid or rescue, to raise awareness amongst your family, friends, or workplace, or to help someone in need.” Mr Davies said. 

This year's award recipients included:

• Jesse Carter (Gold Cross Bravery Award) - 14-year-old Jesse Carter steered his unconscious mother’s speeding Land Rover into a stone wall rather than crashing into pedestrians, after she suffered a medical episode and passed out in November last year. After taking the wheel from the passenger seat at almost 100km/h on Railway Road, Jesse risked his life and made a decision under extreme stress to steer into a wall, saving those at the pedestrian crossing.   
• Mia Wood (Gold Medallion) - 7-year-old Mia showed extreme bravery after her family was involved in a fatal rollover on Kwinana Freeway in Nambeelup. The family’s Nissan X-Trail hit a steel barrier and rolled on its roof in July last year. Fearing the vehicle could catch fire, Mia, pulled her five-year-old sister from the wreck and woke her mother, guiding her to unbuckle her seatbelt and exit through the window to safety. 
• Emily Donovan, Jane Valentine and Sarah Medwell (Gold Medallion), Senior Constable Luke McCulloch and Joel Lane (Gold Star) - Mark Donovan almost lost his life in January, after collapsing from a cardiac arrest during a family picnic in Mosman Park. His wife Jane, and daughter-in-law Emily, commenced CPR and were joined by off-duty paramedic, Joel, and Sarah, a passerby. Five minutes after collapsing, the family were able to flag down a passing Water Police boat carrying Senior Constable McCulloch, who arrived with a defibrillator and restarted Mark’s heart.  The group continued CPR, administered oxygen and recorded Mark’s vitals. Once the ambulance arrived, Mark was breathing, conscious and in the recovery position – a testament to the swift and outstanding care provided by the group.
• Maitu Molesworth and Tristan Wroth (Gold Medallion) and Senior Constable Joshua Otten (Gold Star) - Tristan Wroth, Senior Constable Joshua Otten and unsworn police officer Maitu Molesworth stepped in to help a nightclub manager after he’d been injured in a ‘one-punch’ attack in Northbridge in 2020. The pair performed CPR on the victim who had lost consciousness and stopped breathing and directed a crowd of onlookers away from the scene. Sadly, the victim did not survive, however the first aid efforts on the day meant his family could be with him and say goodbye. 
• Krystal Karacsony (Gold Medallion) - In 2019, Krystal was confronted with a terrifying emergency situation when her neighbour found her 11-month-old baby unresponsive in the bath. Krystal took the infant and commenced CPR when she couldn’t detect a pulse. She instructed family members to call an ambulance and performed compressions until paramedics arrived. The baby was transferred to Perth Children’s Hospital where she made a full recovery. 
• Ryan MacPherson (Gold Star) - 15-year-old Ryan was competing in a triathlon when he saw a competitor struggling to stay afloat. Ryan kept the swimmer’s head above water until help arrived and went on to win first place.  
• Lauren Berry (Gold Star), David Donaldson and Stuart Herrald (Bravery Commendation) - Lauren, David and Stuart all came to the aid of a beach walker who collapsed from a heart attack on San Remo beach. The trio commenced CPR, called 000 and used a defibrillator from a nearby club. The victim went on to make a full recovery. 
• Mark Milliken (Gold Medallion), Aleks Nikolic and Hui Zang (Bravery Commendation) - Mark, Aleks and Hui approached the scene of a crash where a car towing a caravan overturned and caught fire. They freed the trapped driver and helped police manage the scene. The swift actions of the trio ultimately saved the driver’s life.
• Darren Purdie (Gold Medallion), Eva Courtney, Rene De Wet and Terence Kirwan (Bravery Commendation) - Darren, Eva and Rene stopped to assist after a car collided with a truck. The trio removed some passengers from the wreck and administered first aid while assisting the truck driver, Terence, who called 000. After multiple surgeries the passengers are recovering well. Tragically, the driver passed away at the scene. 
• Tracey Stephen and Callum Munro (Gold Medallion) and Thomas Kirkham (Gold Star) - 17-year-old Thomas was a passenger in a car which collided with a tree and rolled several times before catching fire. Thomas re-entered the burning vehicle to pull his 10-year-old brother to safety. Meanwhile, Tracey called 000 and alerted her neighbour, Callum, who checked on the driver and commenced CPR. Sadly, the driver and other passenger, Thomas’ twin brother, didn’t survive the crash. Thomas and Charlie underwent surgery and have both recovered.
• Luca Gangemi, Jack Hadley, Adam Anistino, Khairul Roslan and Dr Marie-Michelle Chabanis (Gold Star) - Cockburn ARC staff came to the aid of a patron who suffered a heart attack in the sauna, phoning 000, commencing CPR and administering a defibrillator with the aid of Dr Marie-Michelle Chabanis. The victim was taken to hospital to undergo surgery and went on to recover. 
• Constable Trent Banner (Gold Star), Senior Constable Trent Banner, Senior Constable Jared Love and First-Class Constable Joshua Reedy, Dylan Dailey and Christine Larkin (Bravery Commendation) - The Bloody Slow Cup turned into an emergency when a woman suffered a medical episode and stopped breathing. Officers commenced CPR and organised a defibrillator and were joined by Dylan and Christine, who took turns performing compressions for one hour until the ambulance arrived. Despite their best efforts, the woman later passed away in hospital. 
• First Class Constable Branden Zannino, Sergeant Callum Goodwin and Sakopo Malie Tatafu (Gold Medallion) - Sakopo discovered a man unresponsive in his car after suffering a medical episode. He dragged the man out of the vehicle and commenced CPR until officers Zannino and Goodwin arrived and took over CPR while Sakopo performed rescue breaths. CPR was continued by paramedics and police officers but sadly the man could not be revived.
• Jason * (Gold Cross), Constable Tyler Maxwell, Callum Miller and Benjamin McCarren (Gold Medallion) - Jason was piloting a twin-engine plane when it crashed near Kununnura. Before help arrived, Jason, re-entered the burning aircraft to pull his passenger out from the wreck before collapsing. When police arrived on scene they found both victims had life threatening injuries and assisted with first aid until an ambulance arrived. Jason was transferred to Darwin hospital via helicopter in a critical condition and is now recovering. Tragically, due to his injuries, the passenger didn’t survive.
• Kylie Herda (Gold Medallion) - A man collapsed after leaving the bank branch where Kylie was working. Having recently completed first aid training, Kylie stepped in to assist and began CPR as the man struggled to breathe and began vomiting blood. The patient was transferred to hospital but unfortunately could not be revived. 
• Ben D’Sylva, Taj Dutton, Aiden Broughton and Travis North (Gold Medallion) - This group of friends were docking their boat when they heard a cry for help. An elderly man had fallen into the water and was semi-conscious and suffering from exposure. The group immediately dove into the water, retrieving the man, placing him in the recovery position and monitored his condition until paramedics arrived. 
• Mesut Polat (Gold Medallion) - Mesut was driving when he saw a car burst into flames with the driver trapped inside. Mesut immediately ran to the car and freed the driver, moving her to a safe distance until emergency services arrived. 
• Candice Peart (Bravery Commendation) - Candice was the first person on the scene of a car accident in Kununurra, where a car had rolled and crashed into a tree. Thankfully everyone survived, but one of the passengers was losing consciousness. Candice helped the passenger into her car and drove him to hospital where he went on to make a full recovery.

You can find out more about our Bravery Awards and nominate someone to be included in next year's event, at the link below.