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The Australian prime minister has hailed him a hero for rushing out of his shop to help independent MP Helen Haines after she was allegedly run down in a deliberate attack – but barber Ricky Jefferies says he had “no choice” but to intervene.
Standing on Tuesday morning outside his shop, which is right next to Haines’ electorate office in Wangaratta, Jefferies was almost shy about the whole thing.
“I don’t want to be known as a hero,” the regional Victorian barber repeatedly told the large media pack that surrounded him.
Jefferies spoke about how he had just finished cutting a young family’s hair when a car hit Haines at about 4pm on Monday. When he heard the loud crash, he ran to help.
“A lot of people a lot of people got involved immediately, and they didn’t even check the danger,” he said. “They just ran to help. The driver was still in the car, the car was still on, and … one man sat in front of the moving car,” he said.
“I had no choice but to take him out of the car because it was the right and safest thing to do.”
Haines was allegedly rammed twice on Murphy Street in Wangaratta on Monday afternoon, and remains in a critical but stable condition on Tuesday morning. The prime minister alleged it was an attack and it “wasn’t an accident”. Haines’ alleged attacker, who was arrested at the scene, has been named as 43-year-old Tarrawingee man Brendan Nugent, Guardian Australia has confirmed.
Witnesses have described the driver as doing a U-turn before allegedly ramming Haines against a vehicle, then reversing before doing it a second time, the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, said on Tuesday morning.
Jefferies said after getting the driver out of the car, he held the man down. He said he told him he couldn’t leave but that the man would be alright, in an attempt to calm him while others helped Haines.
He also alleged the man had a knife on him.
“He did have a knife. He didn’t pull it out. Basically just … took it out of his pocket and threw it away,” he alleged.
Jefferies, who was back at work cutting hair at 7am on Tuesday, said he didn’t stop to think about the danger, only that his wife might be upset if he got hurt.
“[I just thought] my wife will be disappointed if I’m injured,” he said. “My family is everything, and my community is second to that.
“I was just trying to not get injured and not let anyone else be injured after the initial incident.”
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Jefferies actions have been widely commended on Tuesday, including by Albanese, Burke and the mayor of Wangaratta, Irene Grant.
“It’s got to be said here that at this dark and terrible time, an element of light is the fact that a good Samaritan, someone rushed to Helen’s defence in Wangaratta … and that person is a hero today,” Albanese told the Today Show.
“And I just think that he deserves enormous praise and thanks for his intervention, which could have prevented even further infliction of damage, which was aimed at Helen.”
Grant said she had spoken to the barber on Tuesday morning, saying he was taking it in his stride.
“He was extraordinarily modest about the very brave action that he took yesterday … he did an amazing job.”
Jefferies brushed the accolades aside, saying he doesn’t want to be seen as a hero and that – like all of the community – he is praying Haines recovers quickly.
“No one’s job should put them at risk. I can tell you from my own personal dealings that she is a genuine, kind person,” he said.
“I don’t think I’m the hero, I think that I just was a person who had an opportunity to intervene in a safe-ish sort of way.”
