Queensland veterinarian Samantha Naday thought every passenger was dead as she ran in the dark towards the bus lying on its side down a steep bank.
"For a split second it was haunting," she says.
No one was screaming or crying.
There was smoke coming from the engine of the vehicle lying precariously part-way down the bank.
Dr Naday had been in another bus, travelling behind the one that rolled down the bank in Lamington National Park in the Gold Coast hinterland about 8pm on January 13 last year.
Dr Naday, her partner Jack O'Dwyer and his step-father Paul Hughes, together with other passengers Steven Armitage, Senior Sergeant Troy Hamilton and Michael Springfield are among 83 people recognised for their courage, sacrifice and selflessness in the Australian Bravery Awards announced on Monday.
The passengers were on a tour to see glow worms when one vehicle had a mechanical failure.
Dr Naday didn't see the bus veer off the road, but heard Mr O'Dwyer and other passengers yell as it disappeared into the darkness.
Mr O'Dwyer rushed from their bus, running to the front of the crashed vehicle where the driver was trapped.
"It was terrifying," Dr Naday told AAP.
The bus was on its side with wheels in the air and in danger of rolling further down the bank.
Dr Naday says she feared her partner would get crushed if the vehicle moved.
The group of six smashed the back window, evacuated 18 passengers and reassured the trapped driver until emergency services arrived.
"We made a chain, passing the passengers up the bank," Dr Naday said.
"You don't realise what you are capable of doing until you're forced into that situation."
Dr Naday said the driver was hospitalised, but passengers were lucky to only have mild injuries like cuts from seatbelts.
Governor-General David Hurley says it is important to celebrate Australian Bravery Award recipients and take inspiration from the example of selflessness they set, even as the country faces the huge challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Australian Bravery Awards recognise courage and sacrifice," he said.
"Perhaps most importantly, they recognise people who, in a moment of danger or threat, think of others ahead of their own safety."
Police officer Constable Jeremy Gardiol and member of the public Alan Girdler were recognised for rescuing a man from a burning vehicle at Gympie on June 6, 2018.
Another Queenslander Kyle Patrech received an award for bravery during an armed domestic violence event at Forest Lake, south of Brisbane on March 4, 2018.
He intervened when a woman was assaulted by her partner, who then threatened both her and Mr Patrech with a knife.
Australian Associated Press
