ABA Brave Youth Of The Year 2016

Zachary Bissell BM

Citation:

The late Mr Zachary John BISSELL, Late of Illawong NSW 2234

In the early evening of 6 August 2011, Mr Zachary Bissell rescued a friend at Como Railway Station in New South Wales.

Mr Bissell and a group of friends were on a platform at the Como Railway Station waiting for a city bound train to arrive. The group had purchased tickets for the 6:40pm train, however when their train arrived at the station, only some of the group were able to board before the doors closed. The rest of the group stood on the platform, waiting for the 7:00pm service.

Before the train arrived, one of the group jumped off the platform onto the train tracks and began running south. He ran until he reached the end of the station, where the tracks coming from different directions meet. He continued to run for about 30 metres. Mr Bissell immediately jumped down off the platform and began yelling at his friend to get off the tracks. A train travelling south towards Sutherland was quickly approaching and Mr Bissell pulled his friend towards the other track and out of the way of the passing train. Tragically, Mr Bissell was struck by a northbound train and died from his injuries.

By his actions, Mr Bissell displayed considerable bravery.