David Duncan, from Otley in northern England, started the crowdfunding campaign after Lukasz Urban was found shot dead in his truck, which German police believe was used by Tunisian jihadist Anis Amri in the attack on the Christmas market.
“I'm a truck driver myself and I just felt compassion with his family… I just felt I wanted to do something to help,” Duncan told AFP at an embassy ceremony, attended by Polish truckers.
“It was incredible how many people responded to it! I wanted to raise just a few hundred pounds and it just went incredibly well,” Duncan said.
The British trucker attended 37-year-old Urban's funeral in the northwestern village of Banie on December 30th, when truckers across Poland honked their horns in hommage.
Duncan said he had spoken to Urban's family and they were “extremely grateful”, adding: “They just couldn't believe that somebody that didn't know them has done such a nice thing for them.”
Polish ambassador Arkady Rzegocki said: “His compassion moved many both in the UK and back in Poland. It is an inspiring example of British-Polish solidarity which never fails in times of crisis.”
Amri is suspected of hijacking the truck, killing Urban and then smashing into a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 11 other people, on December 19th.
After going on the run, Amri was himself killed in a shootout with Italian police in a Milan suburb on December 23rd.
Please whitelist us to continue reading.