John Barry Boyarski, MB is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

bus driver A bus driver, bus operator, or bus captain is a person who drives buses for a living. Description Bus drivers must have a special license above and beyond a regular driver's licence. Bus drivers typically drive their vehicles between bus sta ...

and recipient of three awards acknowledging bravery. On August 8, 1985, while working for BC Transit in the

Greater Vancouver Greater Vancouver, also known as Metro Vancouver, is the metropolitan area with its major urban centre being the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The term "Greater Vancouver" is roughly coterminous with the geographic area governed b ...

region, John Boyarski stopped his bus on a

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

street to assist a young girl who was being dragged to a car. Not at first aware that her assailant was armed, he stepped out of the bus, approaching the assailant while the young girl escaped to the inside of the bus. Three gunshots were fired from a

semi-automatic pistol A semi-automatic pistol is a type of repeating single-chamber handgun ( pistol) that automatically cycles its action to insert the subsequent cartridge into the chamber (self-loading), but requires manual actuation of the trigger to actuall ...

, all missing Boyarski. The assailant then fled in his car and was soon captured by

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

. The victim had sustained two bullet wounds to the arm prior to Boyarski's arrival. He was awarded a heroism medal from the Carnegie Hero Fund in October 1986. On August 19, 1989, he was awarded a Canadian Medal of Bravery by

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Jeanne Sauvé.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyarski, John Living people Bus drivers People from Greater Vancouver Recipients of the Carnegie Medal (Carnegie Hero Fund) Year of birth missing (living people)