Steven Ciccone, a celebrity pastry chef who also suffers from cerebral palsy, didn’t hesitate Sunday morning to help fellow passengers after a Metro-North commuter train derailed in the Bronx. Authorities say that four people were killed and over 60 were injured in the accident. Police are still looking to the investigation to find out what caused the derailment.
Ciccone was injured in the train accident, but that did not stop him from helping other passengers. One woman claims that Ciccone’s actions saved her life, although he refuses to call himself a hero. Before medical help arrived at the scene, Ciccone helped Dr. Denise Williams, a 55-year-old dentist, who fractured her spine in the train derailment. Ciccone stayed by her side, comforting her, and used a ball of yarn he’d been crocheting with to support her neck. He then checked in with her at New York Presbyterian-Columbia University Medical Center.
After the accident, Ciccone ignored his own injuries. On Sunday night, he told 13News Now, “I could have been someone that lost their life. I could be someone having spinal surgery. Yes, I have ailments and injuries. Yes, I’m in pain. Yes, I’m uncomfortable, but physicians are working very well to fix what’s wrong with me or to make me more comfortable.”
He wished Williams well in her back surgery, and he even comforted her family. A relative of Williams told CBS, “I think he’s a hero, and not only that—he was trying to get in touch with everybody once he got to the hospital.” Williams herself later said that Ciccone saved her life.
Williams and Ciccone both have a road of recovery ahead of them, along with the many others injured during the fatal accident, and our thoughts and prayers go out to all those involved.