BRITISH-INDIAN ‘HERO’ TO GET BRAVERY AWARD
Tuesday, 29/09/2015
http://paper.hindustantimes.com/epaper/viewer.aspx
LONDON: A British-Indian delivery van driver has been named the recipient of this year’s ‘Pride of Britain Award’ for risking his life to prevent a road accident that could have resulted in multiple fatalities, a media report said.
Dee Patel, being hailed a ‘hero’, will receive the award in the outstanding bravery category in a glittering ceremony at the Grosvenor House in London’s Park Lane on Monday night.
Patel, who works for Camberley town-based ventilation specialists Zehnder Group UK, was on a routine job on May 18 when he spotted a car ahead of him lose control on the M25 motorway.
The 48-year-old dad of two watched in horror as the car swerved into the central barrier and bounced off it before coming back on to the carriageway at a high speed.
The car hit the barrier a second time, before swerving across four lanes of traffic and on to the hard shoulder.
Patel sprang into action after realizing that the driver, a young woman, was unconscious and a high-speed pile-up seemed inevitable, according to the daily.
“As she came back across she ended up right in front of me. I instantly saw what I needed to do—I had to slow her down,” Patel said. “I had to make sure I hit her with my driver’s side to her passenger side, to force her into the central reservation. Otherwise it could flip over and cause an even worse accident.”
