News / bristol homeless
Bristol Big Issue hero rushes to save car crash victim
A Bristol Big Issue vendor has been praised by fire fighters after rushing to the aid of a woman, who was seriously injured in a car crash.
Garry Buchan witnessed the collision between a car and a moped on Park Street on the afternoon of Monday, March 26.
The woman, who is in her 20s, sustained serious injuries to her neck and back, and the former soldier went straight to help save her before emergency services arrived at the scene.
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Paul Kirk, watch manager with Avon Fire and Rescue service said his actions “made a real difference”.
Garry has been homeless for 18 months
The vendor said he drew on his training during his four-and-a-half years in the Army to help save the woman.
Talking to the Big Issue, Buchan said: “I saw that there was a gap between the car and the moped, so I was scared of the woman suffering a back injury.
“My rucksack was big enough to fill the gap so I put it under the woman to support her while another homeless man helped keep her neck still until the emergency services arrived.
“There were a lot of people stood around who didn’t act, hopefully I showed that if a homeless guy can do it then I can inspire others to help out too.”
Kirk, watch manager at Avonmouth Fire Station said: “We wanted to say thank you to Garry and express our gratitude to him for his calm, collected manner and quick thinking.
“His actions showed what a great asset to the community he is, what he did in that first five or 10 minutes before we got there made a real difference.”
The crash happened on Park Street
On top of his heroics, Buchan is also involved in fundraising activities, having taken part in a 190 mile hike from Milngavie to Inverness in aid of the Big Issue Foundation, the fundraising wing of the Big Issue.
He is currently planning a new challenge, aiming to walk from Land’s End to John O’Groats for the charity this summer.
Buchan has been selling the Big Issue for 18 months after being left homeless. Despite this, he remains more concerned with the struggles of the other homeless people he sees on Bristol’s streets.
Speaking to the Big Issue in February, he explained his drive to help others, saying that “the Government is not going to address homelessness, so somebody has to do something”.
You can find out more about his story here:
Read more: ‘There are good people and then there are those who just look the other way’
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