"God Put Me In that Situation" - Good Samaritan Saves Teen who Fell on Subway Tracks

Aimee Herd : May 9, 2014
Murray Weiss

"I give all the glory to Lord Jesus. I was glad to help and to show her that there are good people out there." -Joshua Garcia

(New York, NY)—When 16-year-old Stephanie Xue became dizzy while waiting for a train in a New York subway station recently, she suddenly fell onto the tracks, hitting her head which knocked her unconscious. (Photo via DNAinfo.com)

Fortunately for Stephanie, a Good Samaritan named Joshua Garcia was waiting on the same platform, and when he saw her fall, he leaped into action.

"She was leaning over the platform like she was woozy from medication, and then I saw her fall and I was like, 'Oh…!'" recalled Joshua in a DNAinfo report.

Onlookers said the girl hit her head so hard on a rail that it "sounded like a gunshot" and her body lay across the tracks.

As Joshua, an Aramark food service employee at New York University, moved to help, his manager, Lourdes Munoz, grabbed his arm, afraid he was running into a gunfight.

But Joshua pulled free and jumped down onto the tracks where Stephanie lay.

"God put me in that situation," he said. "It was where I was supposed to be."

The girl was bleeding from a deep gash across her head where she'd struck the rail.

Joshua lifted Stephanie, a slight 5-foot-4 teen over his head and put her back on the platform. He noticed that the crowd there was merely watching him and doing nothing to help; some were snapping pictures and videos with their phones.

"It was amazing seeing all these people doing nothing," said Joshua. "It was an eye-opener."

Eventually, nursing student, Justine Omilig from Phillips Beth Israel School of Nursing, came forward to help the still-bleeding Stephanie.

Joshua cradled the teen's head while Justine applied pressure to her wound with a wad of tissues.

Stephanie needed 50 stitches to close the gash, but was able to leave the hospital the next day.

She said of her hero, "There is a lot I want to say, but it is hard to find the words. I am just so thankful he was there to help me."

Looking back on his actions, Joshua told reporters, "It was adrenaline and the power of the Lord.

"I give all the glory to Lord Jesus," he added. "I was glad to help and to show her that there are good people out there."