Angel of Bourke St reunited with bleeding rampage victim she helped save in the CBD

WHEN Charlotte Galpin and Nethra Krishnamurthy last held hands, Krishnamurthy lay in pools of blood, one of 37 victims of an alleged Bourke St car rampage, and Galpin fought to keep the then-stranger alive.

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CHARLOTTE Galpin, an unsung angel of Bourke St, was given chocolates on Friday. Yet she didn’t seek gifts. Thanks enough lay in the smile and vitality of Nethra Krishnamurthy.

Meeting for the first time in six months, and only the second time, the pair hugged like old friends.

When they last held hands, Krishnamurthy lay in pools of blood, one of 37 victims of an alleged car rampage, and Galpin feared that she was lost.

Charlotte Galpin (right) is one of the people who helped save the injured on the street after the Bourke St tragedy and was one of the first to assist Kristnamurthy, staying with her until help arrived. Picture: Jason Edwards

Charlotte and Nethra were reunited recently, only the second time they’ve ever met. Picture: Jason Edwards

A squeeze of the hand at the time told Galpin that Krishnamurthy wanted to live. Only then, about 10 minutes after the sickening impact, did Galpin address Krishnamurthy’s overwrought husband, Mohan Kumar.

“Hang on, she’s still breathing,” she told him.

Galpin was working in a travel business across the road when she heard a loud roar and saw a cloud of smoke on January 20.

She didn’t think when she saw Krishnamurthy thrown through the air — she responded.

Triage training as a former airline cabin staff kicked in.

Charlotte said she “doesn’t know what came over me” she bolted out the door of her office to help and didn’t even notice the tram coming. Picture: Tony Gough

Charlotte and fellow city worker Phoebe Hammond stabilised Krishnamurthy until paramedics could arrive. Picture: Alex Coppel

“I don’t know what took over me but I bolted out the door and across the road,” Galpin said.

“I didn’t see the tram coming down the road.”

Krishnamurthy lay where handrails had been swept away. Her blood stained the footpath red.

“You could tell the minute the car hit you that you were going to be in trouble,” Galpin told Krishnamurthy at the site on Friday.

Some traumatised bystanders watched on, Galpin said, likening shock responses to fight or flight.

A woman lent her scarf to staunch the blood flow, staff from a nearby dental surgery brought towels.

Attending to Krishnamurthy that day was another city worker, Phoebe Hammond.

Until ambos rushed to the scene, many on foot, the pair stabilised Krishnamurthy with a poise that belies Galpin’s 24 years.

Charlotte said there was no way she could stand there and not help the victims laying on the street. Picture: David Caird

“You do what you have to do,” Galpin said.

“There was no way I could just stand there and not help.”

Krishnamurthy was hit when she and Kumar had taken a quick break from their separate workplaces upstairs.

Krishnamurthy was going to breastfeed their son, Hari, at a nearby child care centre.

A quick stop became a series of lifesaving operations and two months of hospital stays.

Strangers at the time, Galpin — a New Zealander who has lived in Melbourne for three years — and Hammond have since become friends.

Kumar described them simply. They are the women “who saved my wife”.

Out of adversity, Galpin said, sprung unity and pride: “I’ve never felt prouder to be part of Melbourne than I did on that day.”

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