Lou Bougias, heroic Bourke St cab driver, nominated for Pride of Australia Award

NINE months since the Bourke St tragedy, heroic taxi driver Lou Bougias still thinks about it every day. Now, the Pride of Australia nominee shares how the tragedy changed him and what’s next for him.

LOU Bougias still thinks about it every day.

Nine months after a car tore through the heart of Melbourne, mowing down pedestrians and changing hundreds of lives forever, the humble career cabbie parks at the spot where it happened.

There is always good lunchtime trade — plenty of people need a lift.

But it’s more than that.

He returns to the same cab rank, outside the RACV Club, every day because he knows he’ll spot the people who shared the horror with him.

“I see the same people, or familiar faces,’’ Mr Bougias said. “We were all there. We all experienced it.”

In the days after the Bourke St tragedy, Mr Bougias was identified through social media for his efforts in tending to injured and dying pedestrians.

Student Henry Dow said he was thankful for the cab ­driver’s support when he was tasked with helping a victim.

“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.

Student Henry Dow, who thanked Lou for his support on social media following the Bourke St tragedy. Picture: David Caird

Looking back now, Mr Bougias can’t imagine having ­reacted any differently.

He was having a cigarette when the car sped past. He can still see the look in the eyes of the driver. He recalls the mother flung through the air. A child on the road. A pram. The screams and tears.

“I just thought: ‘S---, I have to do something.’ There were eight civilians and four coppers helping five of the victims in our stretch of the road.’’

He admitted the thought of it all should probably have taken more of a toll. But in the months that followed, he was connected with other first-­responders. They share their ­stories and he said that helped.

Mr Bougias — who has been nominated for News Corp’s annual Pride of Australia Awards — credits his military training and a “duty first’’ attitude for keeping him grounded in those frantic ­moments.

Lou Bougias can’t imagine having reacted any differently on the day of the Bourke St tragedy. Picture: Aaron Francis, The Australian

But it’s what he has learned since that he said had had a huge impact on his life.

“Witnessing that made me more determined to do the right thing for people, for ­anybody who needs a hand,’’ he said.

He said in some ways it’s made him softer. He hopes he’s a better father to his four kids, a better husband to his wife.

“It just made me realise we need to try harder to be good to one another, to be better citizens.’’

He’s also no longer prepared to tolerate fools and has stepped up to fight crippling reforms within the taxi industry.

He is in talks to organise a charity soccer match, named in honour of the two children who died on that dark day.

He hopes the Thalia and Zachary Cup would help raise money for the hospitals where so many of the Bourke St Victims were treated.

Mr Bougias has been nominated for News Corp’s annual Pride of Australia Awards, a campaign aimed at recognising the efforts of community heroes.

Nominations are now open. See prideofaustralia.com.au to nominate before November 19. Medals will be awarded in January.