Good Samaritan collapses after assisting woman injured in bus mall accident

A man who rushed to help a woman injured in a horror bus mall accident has revealed how he too ended up in hospital after the freak incident.

A GOOD Samaritan who rushed to help a woman injured in a horror bus mall accident last week has revealed how he ended up in hospital that day too – with his two front teeth knocked out.

On the morning of February 11, Hobart woman Katrin Roy was huddled under a newly-installed shelter when a panel fell from above her, slicing a large chunk of flesh from her shin “down to the bone”, leaving her on the pavement “screaming in agony”.

James, who asked for his surname not to be published, saw the “awful” accident unfold, calling an ambulance and cradling Mrs Roy as they waited for an ambulance to arrive.

“I spent 20 minutes on my hands and knees holding Katrin’s ankle and supporting her through the horror injury. I also spoke to the triple-0 operator and was advising them what was happening with her,” James told the Mercury.

A woman was transported to hospital with a section of flesh sliced from her shin after a newly-installed panel fell from a bus mall shelter.

He was required to look at the wound while speaking to emergency workers, noting he later started “feeling off” when the ambulance arrived.

“I remember getting up from being on my hands and knees in a crouched position and everything hit me – what I saw, the blood,” he said.

“I lost consciousness and ended up face first on the pavement.”

He said two passers-by helped him, and a police patrol car took him to the Royal Hobart Hospital – the same place Mrs Roy had gone.

“I had stitches in my chin and lip, I’ve lost two front teeth and have bruises on my shoulder, cheek, hands and knees,” he said.

“It’s looking like I’ll be footing a fairly hefty recovery bill, especially for my teeth.”

Mrs Roy is still in hospital, receiving regular wound dressing, and is due to undergo surgery for her wrist and ankle, which also sustained fractures in the horror accident.

The new shelters were installed as part of a major revamp for the Elizabeth Street bus mall, which was completed by Hobart City Council just before Christmas.

Council general manager Nick Heath previously told the Mercury that “additional safety measures” had been installed to each of the new bus mall shelters since the accident.