Dylan Lazzaroni awarded for bravery after rescuing mate who was swept down waterfall

When a Cairns man watched his best mate fall from the top of a waterfall in Far North Queensland and wash 30m downstream, he leapt into the raging torrent of water without a second thought.

Craig Simpson is lucky to be alive after falling from Emerald Creek Falls on March 6 in 2021, suffering a fractured spine, broken ribs and life threatening head injuries. His friends kept Craig alive until the QGAir rescue helicopter arrived and saved his life. On Friday, Olivia McDonald, Dylan Lazzaroni, Craig Simpson and Ashlie Majewski got to thank the rescue aircrew that saved Craig's life at the QGAir hangar at Cairns Airport. Picture: Brendan Radke

When a Cairns man watched his best mate fall from the top of a Far North Queensland waterfall and get washed 30m downstream, he instinctively — and without a second thought — saved his life.

Dylan Lazzaroni, then 24, was with Craig Simpson, 24, at Emerald Falls on March 6, 2021 when Mr Simpson misjudged a gap between the rocks and fell.

Mr Lazzaroni scaled down the waterfall, pulled his mate from the water and commenced CPR.

Three years later Mr Lazzaroni has been recognised for his immense bravery as the Governor-General announced 50 Australian Bravery Decorations to recognise the courageous acts of 89 people after being awarded the Commendation for Brave Conduct for his actions.

“You don’t do it for the recognition, but I guess it is nice to receive a recognition like this,” he said.

“To think that it was three years ago now is pretty crazy.”

Mr Simpson Fell from the top of the falls before Mr Lazzaroni was able to locate him further down in a second pool once he entered the water to help his mate they were both washed into a third pool. Photo Supplied

Reliving the moment he saved his mate’s life, Mr Lazzaroni — who has known Mr Simpson since they were five — said his response was automatic.

“I was just swearing ... my friends were way further down so I was just yelling to them and waving as I went down to where he fell,” he said.

“It didn’t feel real, your body just goes into automatic mode.”

Mr Lazzaroni navigated his way down the waterfall and arrived at a pool of deep, fast flowing, and turbulent water.

“I remember it all pretty well, the instincts kicked in and the first thing I needed to do was find him.”

Craig Simpson is lucky to be alive after falling from Emerald Creek Falls on March 6 in 2021, suffering a fractured spine, broken ribs and life threatening head injuries. His friends kept Craig alive until the QGAir rescue helicopter arrived and saved his life. On Friday, Olivia McDonald, Dylan Lazzaroni, Craig Simpson and Ashlie Majewski got to thank the rescue aircrew that saved Craig's life at the QGAir hangar at Cairns Airport. Picture: Brendan Radke

Eventually he saw his friend’s pants float up in a pool further down.

“It would have been a couple of minutes before I had a hold of him, I couldn’t find him straight away he was stuck at the bottom of an eddy, so he was under water for a bit,” Mr Lazzaroni said.

The men were dragged further down the falls by the current, until Mr Lazzaroni was able to stop and drag his friend partially out of the water.

Mr Lazzaroni, joined by the rest of the group, commenced CPR and assisted paramedics once they had arrived.

“There was lots of little things that all made the difference to save him that day, finding him in the water, getting his head bandaged where he was bleeding the most, and being able to call the paramedics,” he said.

“It could have been a very different story. I think a lot of things went right that day.”

Mr Simpson ended up with a collapsed lung, significant head injuries, five broken ribs, numerous fractures in his spine and a fractured eye socket. Photo: Supplied

Mr Simpson was flown to hospital with severe injuries including a collapsed lung, significant head injuries, five broken ribs, numerous fractures in his spine and a fractured eye socket.

“He came out of the coma within four days which is pretty quick but up until that point we weren’t sure if he was going to be OK, we already knew he had a broken back, we weren’t fully hopeful,” Mr Lazzaroni said.

“He is pretty tough. He is a nugget of a bloke. If it was me who fell down I know I wouldn’t come out as well as he did.

“He’s an absolute weapon. Within a year he was back playing rugby and always very determined with his recovery. He always had a vision of where he wanted to be at the end of it.”

But none of Mr Simpson’s remarkable recovery would have been possible without Mr Lazzaroni’s actions on that day.

Originally published as Dylan Lazzaroni awarded for bravery after rescuing mate who was swept down waterfall