WASHINGTON: The “true hero” Secret Service agent who helped save the life of US president Ronald Reagan during a 1981 assassination attempt has died aged 85.

Jerry Parr sprang into action to shove the president into a waiting limousine in the frantic moments after gunshots were fired outside the Washington Hilton Hotel on March 30, 1981.

As they sped away, Special Agent Parr discovered Reagan had been injured and redirected the bullet-proof car to a nearby hospital. Recounting the incident later, Parr said he thought he had injured one of Reagan’s ribs when he fell on top of the president in the race to get him into the limousine, only learning at the hospital that the president had been shot.

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2015

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