A brave New Yorker saved an 83-year-old Air Force veteran from certain tragedy when both were pushed onto Upper East Side subway tracks, allegedly by an undocumented immigrant.
Jhon Pena, 30, selflessly helped pull grandfather Richard Williams back onto the platform just before a train arrived, despite sustaining injuries himself. Williams’ daughters expressed their gratitude for Pena’s heroism, although the outcome may not be enough to save their father’s life.
Debbie Williams, one of Richard’s daughters, praised Pena for assisting her father, stating, “What can you say about New Yorkers?” Sadly, she revealed that her father, who recently celebrated his 55th wedding anniversary, is currently in a critical condition, with Queens prosecutors confirming that he is “currently brain dead.”
“My father is not doing well at all,” Debbie lamented. “There is no change — It does not look promising.”
Both men were at the Lexington Avenue-63rd Street station in Manhattan when an illegal immigrant from Honduras, Bairon Hernandez, 34, allegedly pushed them onto the tracks in a shocking and unprovoked attack.
Cellphone footage captured the aftermath of the attack, showing the suspect walking away casually after pushing the victims onto the subway bed. A bystander is seen confronting the assailant before checking on the injured men.
The stranger then extends a helping hand to the victims.
Claudia Pena, Jhon’s mother, shared that her son was deeply affected by the incident, saying, “He tells me it was very distressing getting [Williams] out of there and not doing anything more for him.” Jhon suffered shoulder and knee injuries and was taken to Jamaica Hospital.
Williams, a retired Air Force jet mechanic turned entrepreneur, sustained more severe injuries and was admitted to the ICU at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell.
Diane Williams, another daughter of the veteran residing in Phoenix, Arizona, shared the immense impact the incident had on her elderly mother.
“I have no idea how she is going to survive this,” Diane expressed. “Right now, she is just lost. She is completely lost. She keeps talking to my dad and telling him, ‘C’mon, wake up. Wake up, sweetheart.’
“She can’t digest this.”
She recounted her father’s recent victory over prostate cancer, only to face this new challenge. “He was living his best life and then this had to happen,” she said. “I can’t imagine why anybody would consider pushing a person. It’s beyond me.”
She commended Pena and the other Good Samaritans who assisted her father.
“They’re phenomenal,” she remarked. “Until that son of a bitch that came over here and just decided to start tearing up the subway. There are no words to say how I feel about him.”
Hernandez was apprehended at a Brooklyn homeless shelter and charged with felony assault. He was arraigned and ordered held on bail.
Prosecutors revealed Hernandez’s illegal status, with prior convictions for illegal entry into the US. Defense attorney Michael Papson stated that Hernandez denies the allegations, but the judge deemed him a flight risk and set bail.
Williams’ daughters believe that Hernandez should be held accountable for his actions.
“He just randomly did it, just push people off the f–king subway tracks,” Diane Williams expressed. “I hope he lives with his conscience. I want him to live and live with the consequences he did.”
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