One year ago he was considered a hero after he rescued a newborn from a bin at Prague’s Spořilov. The story of an unknown homeless man touched the public in the Christmas atmosphere. However, Miroslav Szamszelli, the rescuer of baby Vendelín Čtvrtek, was easily forgotten after a couple of months. And it has now been two months since he died in Bohnice mental hospital.
Prague City councillor Jiří Janeček took Szamszelli into his care. He found him accommodation and a job but such a radical turn was too much for a man who has been living on the street and under bridges for 12 years. He ended up at the Bohnice hospital because of a mental disorder. And that is where he died in the middle of October. He choked on a piece of salami. Autopsy showed he had been drinking.
Hospital management did not publicise his death. Týden found out only a few days ago when asking for an interview.
Translated with permission by the Prague Daily Monitor.
