- RAC patrolman John Walshe came to the boy’s rescue using an object from his van
The RAC breakdown service is busy dealing with breakdowns across the country. But one of its technicians recently took some time off from his day job to help with a very different kind of emergency.
RAC technician John Walshe has been hailed a “hero” after helping to free a six-year-old boy whose head was stuck between metal fences while he was playing with friends in a park near Dublin last week.
This is the tool – normally used to get broken down cars back on the road – that John used to free the boy from his predicament.
RAC technician John Walshe has received widespread praise after helping a six-year-old boy whose head was stuck between metal fences in Dublin
Six-year-old Isaac Jago Kohls was enjoying his summer holidays playing with friends in People’s Park south of the town of Dún Laoghaire when he became trapped between two metal fence railings.
After his family made several unsuccessful attempts to remove Isaac’s head from the body, a woman helping his mother called the local fire department.
At that moment, RAC patrolman John Walshe drove past and saw Isaac and his family in distress.
After stopping to check if everything was OK, John, who monitors Dublin and the surrounding areas, immediately knew which tools he could use in the back of his van to free Isaac.
He ran to his broken down car and came back with a jack, normally used to lift a car off the ground to fix a flat tire or change a wheel. He made the gate wide enough that Isaac could pull his head out in seconds.
As he walked past the scene, John saw the boy and his family in distress and stopped to see if he could help. And he knew right away which tools in the back of his van could be used to free Isaac…
John used a jack – normally used to jack up a car on the side of the road to fix a flat tire or change a wheel – to make the fence wide enough that Isaac could pull his head out in seconds
Isaac’s mother Vicky Jago describes John as a hero.
“We are incredibly grateful to John, who is now seen as a true hero by Isaac and his relieved friends and family,” she said.
‘I’m sure John didn’t expect to be using his recovery expertise to help a six-year-old boy last week!
‘We were overwhelmed by the support from the local community and from the kind passers-by who came to help us, including the cafe owner and the kind woman who called the fire brigade on our behalf.
“The most important thing is that it was pure luck that John passed away and stopped out of goodness, allowing him to free Isaac within minutes.”
John said: ‘I was driving along the main road in Dún Laoghaire when I saw poor Isaac in tears, he was upset because his head was stuck.
‘After I stopped to check on him, I widened the railing with the jack, which got him loose very quickly.
‘The fire department arrived just after me and gave Isaac the all clear. When I left he was in a much happier mood and was definitely enjoying an ice cream!’