Passerby plumber who saved British tourist's life in horror taxi accident fired from his job for 'attracting too much attention'

The passerby plumber credited with saving a British tourist's life after a horrific Manhattan taxi crash claimed today that he's been sacked from his job for attracting too much attention.

David Justino, 44, made a tourniquet out of his belt to stop the bleeding from Sian Green's leg when the young woman's foot was severed by a runaway cab on August 20.



Miss Green, 23, today spoke for the first time since the accident and thanked strangers that saved her life. Mr Justino now says he has been punished for this heroism by his employer.

Hero: David Justino saved the life of British tourist Sian Green when she was hit by a taxi in Manhattan. Now he says he's been sacked for attracting too much attention

Upbeat: Sian Green (center) spoke for the first time since the horrific accident on the Today show on Tuesday and thanked strangers for saving her life. She appeared on the show with best friend Keshia Warren (left)

The plumber said he has been laid off with no explanation by his ex-bosses at Bass Plumbing and Heating Corp, of Queens, New York. He believes it is a reaction to his new-found fame.

'I lost my job for saving this girl! All that commotion, my boss had enough of it and decided it would be better to fire me,' a frustrated Mr Justino told the New York Daily News .

'I think I would have been better off doing heroin than being a hero,' he continued.

The man says he was fired from his foreman's job in the construction of a store at the Rockefeller Center subway station just days after his vital intervention to stop Miss Green bleeding to death.

Tribute: Miss Green said if it wasn't for the actions of strangers who rushed to help she wouldn't have survived the accident. Plumber David Justino (right) used his belt to make a life-saving tourniquet for her leg, while celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz (left) also raced to the scene

Optimistic: Sian Green spoke publicly for the first time today since the horrific Manhattan taxi accident in which she lost her leg five weeks ago

The British woman lost her leg in the horrific Manhattan accident near where Justino worked and today spoke publicly about the crash for the first time.



Miss Green had to have her left leg amputated after a taxi driver lost control and slammed into her, severing her foot, on Sixth Avenue and 49th Street in Midtown Manhattan five weeks ago .

The aspiring model from Leicester appeared on the Today show and said that if it wasn't for the kindness and quick-thinking of strangers, such as Mr Justino, she wouldn't have survived the crash.

Justino was joined in his heroism by a pizza truck owner who raced to put her foot on ice and TV celebrity Dr Oz, who hurried to the scene from his nearby office.



Smiling Miss Green, who appeared on Today in a wheelchair with her leg bandaged, told host Matt Lauer : 'There's good people in this world, very good people in this world that I can't thank enough.'

'They saved my life. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be sitting here right now telling this story,' she added. Investigation: No charges have yet been filed against the taxi driver in the incident, who reportedly lost control of car after an argument with a cyclist and ploughed into Miss Green Mr Justino has previously said that 'instinct' kicked in when he helped Miss Green and that he should 'have done more' to help the British woman.

He now adds that he is out of work and has bills to pay. Justino told the Daily News that he just had to act when confronted with the accident. 'She was going to die right there in the bushes,' he said. He blasted the other witnesses adding: 'Everyone was pulling out cellphones, videotaping instead of helping.' The hero plumber then acted decisively: 'I wasn't going to let that cab take her life. God's biggest gift is life... I wouldn't let this thing happen. Not on my watch.'

But now he is upset at some of the other consequences of his actions. 'I should have kept on walking like everybody else. I'd be putting in pipe instead of worrying about paying my bills,' he told the paper. Hopes: Miss Green, who was training to be a buyer for Hugo Boss, has just been released from hospital. She also received deep cuts on her right leg, but doctors expect her to regain most of the functionality in that leg as she continues therapy He is reportedly now working at Aquarium Critters Warehouse in Yonkers, New York.

'Everything is upside down. I should be on a job, running men, making good money,' Justino said. 'Right now I'm in the pet shop trying to figure out how to make money.' Authorities continue to investigate the accident but no charges have yet been filed against the runaway cab driver.

Driver Faysal Kabir Mohammad Himon of Queens, New York, 24, has been charged with seven traffic violations in the last three years.