'We are looking after you': Melbourne man praises heroic efforts of 'Lou the cabbie' after CBD carnage
A young Melbourne man has praised the heroic and unsung efforts of a stranger named "Lou" who came to the aid of a woman in the immediate aftermath of Friday's carnage.
Henry Dow penned a powerful, moving tribute to the man known only by his first name who acted selflessly in the Bourke Street Mall while so many others were gripped by shock and grief.
"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 on Facebook.
"In a level and loud voice, Lou barked orders at other pedestrians standing by, having not fled, but still too stunned to think or move.
"He directed assistance to several of the victims laying on the pavement around us, all whilst keeping me calm and speaking lovingly to this woman: 'I am Lou, you are going to be ok, we are looking after you'."
The commendation came as 17-year-old Tevita Mahina politely dismissed the praise shown to him for his heroic efforts trying to stop the car during the rampage.
"The car came at us, and then I stepped to the side and swung the bat, pretty much," he told reporters.
"And then he came back and he chased us... he was gonna hit us."
Tevita was with his mate, 17-year-old Isaac Tupou. The friends had just attended a church group function and were about to play some baseball when they spotted the car doing doughnuts in the intersection beneath the clocks at Flinders Street station.
"We heard a lot of screeching, it was echoing, and it caught a lot of the people's attention so we went to have a look. Then we saw a car doing doughnuts.
"We just had to take action. No one was doing anything and he looked like he was gonna hurt people.
"I heard him screaming 'F the world' to everyone, of course putting his finger up to the whole crowds.
Tevita told the Daily Mail he "didn't save anyone so I don't feel like a hero".
"The ones who attended to the victims are the heroes. I'd do it again in a heartbeat but I regret not doing more to drop him," the humble young giant said.
"I wish I could have stopped him."
While a car spun in indiscriminate burnouts in the streets of Melbourne, the teenager did not hold back as he ran toward the vehicle and smashed it with a bat.
With the driver shouting "F**k the world" and innocent lives in danger, Tevita's heroic act earned him the nickname "Batman".
* Tributes flow as victims of Bourke St carnage identified
It was the same selfless heroism Mr Dow recalled when he thought about how prompt first responders were at the scene, but he soon learnt Lou was a taxi driver.
"It kept going through my head, 'thank f**k I blacked out and have an emergency services veteran here with me'.
"Surely Lou was Ambulance, Police or SAS. Lou was not," Mr Dow wrote the day after the carnage.
"Lou, in his white shirt and neat dark tie, was a taxi driver. In our small story, of this much bigger tragedy, Lou took command and was a genuine hero."
Lou the cabbie's actions led the Monash University law student to reflect how even in the most horrific of circumstances, humanity's best will flourish.
"Their (sic) was no evil on Bourke street yesterday; one sick young man did a terrible thing, and hundreds responded with the love and sense of community that makes Melbourne such a beautiful city, and Victoria such a great State," he said.
"There was only kindness in the voices of the police who came to relieve us. I felt only love when an older man hugged me, having just told a father he had lost a daughter.
"Many images and sounds will stay with me much longer than I might like, but I am glad to have seen, and hope I never forget, just how brave and loving strangers can be."
Mr Dow concluded by calling on Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to honour Lou the cabbie's brave and heroic efforts, saying Melbourne owed him a "great debt of gratitude".
"I love this city," the Melburnian wrote.
Friday's rampage claimed the lives of five people, including 10-year-old girl Thalia Hakin and an unnamed three-month-old baby, with dozens more injured.
"Ordinary" Victorian Gary Oke shared an emotional recount on 3AW radio with Neil Mitchell on Monday morning, describing the horror he witnessed while trying to save Thalia's life.
Mr Oke said he was only a foot away from being struck himself, when the crazed driver passed him.
"It was one of the most horrible things I've ever seen," he said of finding the schoolgirl lying face down.
"There was already blood pouring. She was still breathing, so we tilted her head back.
"It was like she was shaking, or she was convulsing. She was still breathing, she was still with us.
"God she would have been in a lot of pain," Mr Oke told, almost choking up.
"Then after a few minutes she stopped breathing."
