11 September 2024
London AA patrol, Iulian Cristea, became an unlikely hero last Friday when he came to the rescue of a stricken vintage van full of important cargo.
Iulian received a call to attend a van which had broken down and holding up traffic on the busy A406 near Barking. On arrival, he was faced with classic 1960’s Citroen Pizza Van and a somewhat flustered owner, along with a police officer who was protecting the scene and requesting immediate action. Under escort from the police officer, Iulian towed the van to a safer location where he quickly diagnosed a broken distributor cap.
““From the first phone call to say that he was on his way to me, I knew that Iulian would come up trumps.”
While Iulian was carrying out the repair, the van’s owner, Sebastian Corredor Lopez from Street Dough informed him that he had been on his way to serve a wedding at Hackney Brewery before the breakdown, and the hungry guests of Eleanor and John were getting hungrier by the minute – on the receipt of this new information, Iulian quickly completed the repair and opted to follow Sebastian for the remainder of the journey to ensure the guests got their pizza.
The pair arrived at the venue to huge cheers from the delighted bride, groom and guests who immediately rushed over to the vans. Iulian naturally assumed that the guests were heading to pizza van, but they were actually heading towards his iconic yellow AA van. Grateful for his actions, the guests surrounded him and gave him a huge round of applause and queued up to take selfies with the hero of the hour.
Iulian said: “I love my job as an AA patrol, and like most patrols, regularly receive positive feedback from satisfied AA members, it’s one of the most rewarding parts of the job. I can honestly say, though, that the reception I received from the wedding party is something I’ll never forget.
“The motto of my East London patrol team is #GSD (Get Stuff Done), but I never imagined that getting stuff done would result in such admiration from so many people – I’m truly humbled. This event has also given me a new respect for the good people who provide food at such events as I hadn’t realised how much pressure they ‘re under when going about their work – they’re all unsung heroes”
Sebastian Corredor Lopez said: “From the first phone call to say that he was on his way to me, I knew that Iulian would come up trumps. He handled the whole situation with total calmness and showed a steel will to help me honour my commitment to the wedding party. I am so grateful to him, and The AA for their help when I needed it most.”
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