HIGH RISE HERO
Tradie shows nerves of steel to save life of woman dangling from balcony
POLICE say they will nominate a Gold Coast tradie for a national bravery award after he risked his own life to pull a young woman to safety from the edge of a 38th floor balcony. Senior Sergeant Brendan Wiblen said Darryn Marshall “put himself at great peril” in an “incredible act of bravery”.
A TRADIE is being hailed a hero for risking his life to save a young woman he spotted hanging over the edge of a 38th floor balcony.
Darryn Marshall was remodelling a kitchen on the top floor of a tower in the Southport Central complex yesterday when he realised a woman, who had Down syndrome and had walked through the open door of an unfamiliar apartment, was hanging over the railing and could fall at any moment.
“It frightened the hell out of me,’’ he told the Bulletin of the moment he saw the stranger, rushed to grab her and had to lean out himself to pull her back, before dragging her inside the unit.
Mr Marshall said he only did what anyone would have done in the same situation, but he was still shaken hours later.
He said he understood the young woman had been spending time in the building and had walked off from her carers, taken a lift and had wandered into the 38th-floor apartment where he and a workmate were installing benchtops.
The woman walked on to the balcony and by the time Mr Marshall noticed her, she was dangling over the edge of the railing. He feared she was only moments from falling to her death.
“Anyone would have done it in that situation, there’s no doubt about it,’’ he said.
“It was just me on the balcony. I saw it and I had to stop it.
“She was going and I just moved.’’
Mr Marshall said that earlier yesterday morning the workmen had propped the door open so they could move heavy stone benchtops into the apartment.
He took a break about 10am to have “smoko” on the balcony.
“Out of nowhere, I looked to my right and there was this girl on the balcony and she was about to go, it gave me the biggest scare of my life,” he said.
“I grabbed her and pulled her in. It was close, I had to move quick … she had a leg over and both arms and her belly hanging over the edge.
“If she had pushed off on her tip toes, she was gone.
“I brought her inside. I didn’t want to let go of her. It was a real scary experience.
“It just keeps going through my head – there was so much stuff on the balcony, what if I tripped, what if I didn’t even look?
“She was already half over by the time I leant over and grabbed her.”
Mr Marshall’s fiance, Kylie Toomey said saving the young woman was in his nature.
“I’m not surprised he would do something like this, for something like that to happen and him just be there and react like that, that’s who he is,” she said.
“When we’re getting off trains he’s the first one there to help elderly people, he’s just a genuine good bloke.
“He doesn’t even have to think about it, it’s just something he does.
“It’s his nature, he has always been like this and I think he thinks this is something everyone would do.
“I’m proud of him, I’m so glad that he was there at the right time because of how it could have turned out if he wasn’t.
“He doesn’t think there is anything brave about what he’s done, I don’t think he grasps the magnitude of what he has done.”
Police aren’t so sure just anybody would have put themselves at risk by leaning over a high-rise balcony railing to save a life, so have started the process of nominating Mr Marshall for a bravery award, praising his extraordinary actions in protecting the 25-year-old woman.
Senior Sergeant Brendan Wiblen said if it was not for the actions of Mr Marshall, the outcome could have been horrific.
“He’s put himself at great peril by leaning over the balcony to grab her,” Sen-Sgt Wiblen said.
“The girl probably didn’t realise the danger she was in. It wasn’t deliberate.
“It shows the nature of the guy, that he thinks that anybody would lean over a 38th storey balcony to rescue somebody, whereas we think it’s an incredible act of bravery.
“There’s a process of nominating him for a nationally recognised bravery award and we’re going to start that process.”
IF SHE HAD PUSHED OFF ON HER TIP TOES, SHE WAS GONE.