Published: June 26, 2015
A near-fatal accident, a quick-thinking soldier, and a tour shirt that became a life-saving tourniquet.
According to the Australian newspaper The Advertiser, an Iron Maiden tour T-shirt unexpectedly played a crucial role in saving a man’s life during a severe traffic accident. The victim, Steve Radeski, recounted the dramatic event, which took place in 2014, and credits both fate and a fellow fan for keeping him alive.
Radeski explained that after the crash, there was no one in sight until a soldier who had recently served in Afghanistan heard the impact and rushed to the scene. The victim’s leg had been violently severed, leaving bone exposed and causing a complicated femur fracture that ruptured the femoral artery. Medical estimates suggest he had only six minutes to live due to blood loss.
The soldier, identified as Bill Gaythwaite, arrived four minutes after the collision. He was wearing an Iron Maiden World Slavery Tour 1985 shirt, a piece he had owned since childhood. Without hesitation, he removed it and used the fabric as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding until an emergency helicopter arrived.
“Iron Maiden saved my life,” Radeski said.
When the band learned about the incident, they responded in true heavy metal fashion. Iron Maiden arranged transportation for Radeski to attend their show at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre and gifted both him and Gaythwaite two autographed shirts as a tribute to the heroic act.
For fans, the story became an unexpected reminder that the power of metal extends well beyond riffs and stages. Sometimes, it can mean the difference between life and death.
