Melbourne rampage: Taxi driver hero Lou tells how he stayed calm

The taxi driver who was called a hero for taking charge and helping the injured in the Bourke Street attack thinks it was his military training that helped him in the moment.

The driver was mentioned in a viral Facebook post by student Henry Dow, who said he was thankful to be given some direction by Lou when tasked with helping a victim.

This moment already feels surreal; without the sounds of violence, rush of adrenaline and smell of fear the photo doesn'...

Posted by Henry Dow on Friday, 20 January 2017

"Lou grabbed my hand and firmly told me to keep it together, that I was OK and that we needed to keep strong for this woman," Mr Dow wrote on Facebook. He assumed Lou was an "emergency services veteran" but found out he was a cab driver caught up in the chaos.

"In our small story, of this much bigger tragedy, Lou took command and was a genuine hero."

Talking on 3AW radio on Tuesday, Lou said adrenaline kicked in when he saw a car plough into pedestrians.

Lou suspects having trained at the Australian Defence Force Academy for a short time helped him keep a level head and direct those nearby.

"It was basically, right, this is what needs to be done, bang, bang, bang, you there, you there," he said.

He began treating four people around him when his attempts to flag down police went unnoticed.

He saw an off-duty orthopedic surgeon using brochures to strap a woman's leg, while workers from a nearby pharmacy rushed over medical equipment. He ran up and down the length of the footpath seven or eight times, checking every single individual, he said.

Lou even made an effort to get water bottles for the police officers as they worked.

Nineteen people were still in hospital on Tuesday after a man allegedly deliberately drove into the lunchtime crowd, killing five people and injuring more than 30.

James 'Jimmy' Gargasoulas, 26, was charged with five counts of murder on Monday, and is likely to face more charges.

- AAP