'I wasn't worried about myself' - hero cabbie

  • 24/01/2017

The Melbourne taxi driver hailed as a hero after assisting victims and rescuers in the aftermath of Friday's Bourke St tragedy has come forward to tell his story.

Five people were killed and dozens injured when Dimitrious Gargasoulas allegedly drove his car through the pedestrian mall.

Lou Bougias was there when it all occurred. He was waiting for his next fare when he heard the sound of helicopters flying over.

Next, police cars arrived with their lights and sirens wailing. Then Gargasoulas tore by in his maroon Holden Commodore, only metres from hitting him, and ploughed through the crowd of pedestrians.

People stood by frozen in horror - however, Mr Bougias stepped in,

"I saw three people flying through the air, I wasn't worried about myself," he told Fairfax Media.

He took charge of the situation and starting helping to save lives.

"I was basically just trying to keep people calm and stabilised until the ambos turned up," he said.

"I was thinking very clearly, I was talking to the victims, the coppers and everyone else who was trying to help. It was basically just a big team effort. I think it was just a matter of adrenaline."

Mr Bourgias said his military training helped him react, as he fetched water and provided first aid.

His work was witnessed by law student Henry Dow, who shared a post to Facebook describing how he came into contact with a man who was providing first aid to an injured woman.

"Lou grabbed my hand and firmly told me to keep it together, that I was ok and that we needed to keep strong for this woman," Mr Dow wrote.

He said Lou gave orders to nearby pedestrians and worked to keep victims lying on the pavement calm.

"It kept going through my head, "thank f**k I lucked out and have an emergency services veteran here with me" Mr Dow wrote.

"Surely Lou was Ambulance, Police or SAS. Lou was not.

"Lou, in his white shirt and neat dark tie, was a taxi driver."

Mr Dow said Lou was "everything great and courageous you have seen, heard or read, rolled into one authentically humble bloke".

And Mr Bourgias remains humble despite being acclaimed as a hero. He says the credit should go to the others who helped.

"It was like a scene from M*A*S*H*, it was all teamwork," he said.

"You just do what you've got to do, you do your duty first."

Newshub.