Lorry driver beams beside TV hero Jay Blades as he accepts POB Award for bravery
Lorry driver John Rastrick beamed with pride as he stood with his TV hero Jay Blades and accepted his Pride of Britain Award for outstanding bravery.
‘Knight of the road’ John pulled Pari Mistri from a burning vehicle with just 29 seconds to spare before it blew up on the motorway. After decades on the road, instinct took over and he knew he had just moments to save a life. But he insists he’d do it again “in a heartbeat”. Humbly accepting his award, John gave Pari, who wasn’t in attendance, a sweet wave on stage.
The crowd of celebrities drowned the room in huge cheers and whistles after hearing John’s incredible story, which presenter Carol Vordeman described as something “out of a film” rather than real life. The Repair Shop presenter Jay Blades took an instant liking to hero John, admitting on stage they’d “have a chin-wag” after the show before asking the crowd to give him another standing ovation.
‘Knight of the road’ John pulled Pari Mistri from a burning vehicle (/ Daily Mirror)Speaking to the Mirror after accepting his award, John remained humble, shaking off his achievement with a shrug. Jay Blades put a warming arm around John, explaining that the lorry driver was “shell shocked” after his big moment on stage. John remained modest but was fiercely sure of one thing: no one was going to die on his watch that night.
John, now 69 and a great-grandfather, admitted he would have never told a soul about his heroic act had his colleagues not found out. He said: "I did not give it a second thought. There was no way I was going to watch her die. Once I saw her in the ambulance, I left and then went to the service station and handed the trailer in the next day and then went to Manchester for my next job. Then the phone went mad when my bosses found out what I had done."
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After John saved her from the blaze, Pari spent four days in a critical care unit with a skull fracture. After an eight-hour operation on her head, she then had to learn to walk and talk again. Tearing up about the moment he found out that Pari was in recovery, John confessed that “it was very emotional”.
Lorry driver John still stays in touch with Pari and her family, who “think quite a lot” of him. He met with Pari again just two weeks ago and seeing her with baby son Axar, six months, was a special moment. "I realised that I had saved not just one life, but two," he said. "It was very emotional."
John stood on stage with his TV hero (Daily Mirror)
The crowd of celebrities drowned the room in huge cheers (Daily Mirror)In a heartfelt gesture to Pari, John accepted his award wearing a watch her family had gifted him, and his love and care for her and her family is palpable. She calls him every year for a catch-up on the anniversary of the rescue, a day she calls 'Hero's Day'. Meeting his own hero, Jay Blades, presenter of BBC's "The Repair Shop', was a highlight for John. "He is going to take me behind the scenes on the show," he said. "I love it."
Jay Blades said: "People like John remind us of the good deeds which are done by people every day. We should remember them more. Maybe the world would be a better place as a result." Comedian Katherine Ryan, who also presented the award, said that Pride of Britain reminded us that 'there is something extraordinary in all of us".
Lorry driver John Rastrick beams with pride as he accepts his POB Award for bravery (Daily Mirror)He was making a DFDS delivery at the time of the incident on Jan 17, 2019, so they have paid for him and his wife Janet, 69, to go on a cruise. John, of Chesterfield, added: "I will take my Pride of Britain trophy.
Pari said after leaving the hospital: "I had no idea of the severity of the accident until much later. I was just looking forward to having dinner with my husband, that's all that was on my mind." Her recollection of the collision had completely gone and she did not know how she came to be lying on the M1.
"I could hear voices and hear stuff, but I couldn't lift my head to look around. I felt like I couldn't speak. I couldn't do anything, I was just lying there," she said. "I was so cold I was thinking, God, if I go might die. don't go and just shivering. The next thing I remember is going into the ambulance and I was thinking, 'Oh my God, if I go to sleep I might die.' Pari said: "That was what was on my mind the whole way."
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