An MTA bus driver who went viral for helping a little girl wandering alone through New York is stepping into a different spotlight.
The driver, Luis Jimenez, is a member of the Timeless Torches dance troupe. The squad performs for the New York Liberty, most recently at the team’s WNBA Finals games. Jimenez rocked his uniform, a black Torches jersey with matching track pants, as they awaited their Oct. 13 performance at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The 60-year-old bus driver could not stop the feeling during his performance in Game 2 of the WNBA finals, in which the Liberty defeated the Minnesota Lynx. Jimenez has danced with the troupe for over a decade. He called the hobby a “fountain of youth” that helps him stay agile for his main job.
“It keeps your energy, everything you have to bring,” Jimenez told the New York Post in 2013. “Helping people out driving the bus is the best thing in the world. I help the elderly with where they gotta go, give special need to them.”
However, the dancer garnered a new claim to local fame in September for his heroic rescue of a young girl. While working his day job, Jimenez stopped his city bus after noticing a 5-year-old girl walking through upper Manhattan alone.
Before intervening as the situation escalated, Jimenez urged one of his passengers to call the authorities. For the city employee, it was a no-brainer to help the child, especially when she went into the street.
My instinct as a father came on because if I see a kid in the street in need of help, I would want somebody to help one of my children or one of my grandkids,” explained Jimenez to ABC7. “You know, my wife always, you know, kind of like she’s worried about me because she knows that when I see something, it’s like we have a saying in the MTA, ‘if you see something, say something.’ Well, with me, I will do something.”
After bringing her onto the bus, he and the passengers waited until the police came. She had been reported missing by her school, ten blocks from where Jimenez found her. Police later reunited the girl with her family.
While this neighborhood hero wears many hats, he continues to show off his pride and care for the New York community.
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