Media Release: ‘Wonderful’ Shepparton liney lends helping hand

A Shepparton apprentice has been hailed as “wonderful” by the family of a man with Down syndrome, after he helped the man get home safely after becoming disoriented earlier this week.

First-year Powercor lineworker apprentice, Zach Treacy, was part of a crew conducting network upgrades near ConnectGV, a disability support service and employment provider, when he noticed a young man pull up in a taxi on Wednesday morning.

Mr Treacy approached the man when he appeared confused about the service being closed for the day.

“He did look a little unsure of what to do, so I started chatting to him,” Mr Treacy said.

“I thought because he pulled up in a taxi, he may not have anyone available to come and get him straight away.”

“So the first thought I had was to call the taxi company.”

But after hitting some roadblocks getting customer and family contact details due to privacy regulations, Mr Treacy tried other avenues to help get the man home.

“I found out his name was Ethan and I asked him if he had a phone or any contact details of anyone we could call.”

“One of the things he took out of his bag was a card with a couple of numbers on it,” he said.

“So I called the first number and it was his mum.”

Ethan’s mother soon arrived to take him home.

Writing a thank-you to Mr Treacy on Powercor’s Facebook page, Ethan’s sister Melinda said the family was very grateful for the assistance.

“Who knows what could have happened if it weren’t for Zach,” Melinda wrote.

“Ethan could have wandered off or been hit by a car as he has no road sense or any sort of stranger danger.”

“We are so grateful and I’m glad you have wonderful people like this working for you…he definitely deserves a pat on the back.”