Eric Roman was driving down the Staten Island Expressway when he happened upon a scene that concerned him. The 17 year-old, who wants to join the New York Police Department some day, saw an old woman walking alone, shivering from the freezing cold conditions outside.
The woman was Laura Farr, 87 years old. The grandmother often walked a few blocks from her home to her grandchildren’s home, but on that fateful day she was driven. The drive proved to be confusing and disorienting to Laura, and she just kept walking, making it two miles. On the shoulder of an exit ramp, Eric Roman saw her. He noticed she looked confused and in need, and could not keep driving until he had made sure she was okay.
“She looked very confused,” he said. “She looked like she was in need. I wasn’t just going to let her drive by and let something happen.”
While Eric called for an ambulance, Laura sat shaking. She was afraid to go with the paramedics, so Eric held her hand and told her he would see her at the hospital.
The heroic young man kept his promise and sat with her at the hospital, alongside her family. “When he came in he called her name and she goes, ‘That’s the boy. That’s the boy who helped me,’” said Farr’s daughter, Roselyn Abraham. Roselyn said Eric has continued to visit Farr, putting a smile on her face. Just like a guardian angel!
Eric has gotten a great start on becoming a protector of the community.
