Jairo Torres, nudged between Councilmembers Fernando Cabrera and Andrew Cohen, graciously accepted a proclamation from Cabrera for saving the life of a little girl whose father pulled her onto the tracks of the Kingsbridge Road No. 4 subway station before killing himself.

The setting was more intimate compared to the first proclamation he received two days before by Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., the first to honor Torres in a news conference full of pomp. It’s the latest in the kind of attention Torres has received since he saved Ferni Balbuena, the five-year-old girl who was nearly crushed by the southbound train around 8 a.m. on Sept. 23.

“Most people would have frozen. Some took out their cameras. He took out literally his heart out especially when he started hearing the little girl crying out, ‘Papi! Papi! Daddy! Daddy!’” said Cabrera of Torres.

Toward the end of the presentation, Cohen—whose 11th Council District abuts Cabrera’s 14th Council District—offered Torres a proclamation, later hugging him.

“Your actions are an act of faith,” said Cohen. “In the face of something so horrific what happened on that platform, and the darkness that that man must’ve felt to the world, your needs really shine a light.”

For Torres, life has certainly been different since he and another bystander, Antonyo Love, rushed to save her. Love, who lifted the girl back to the platform to safety, was inexplicably absent at Cabrera’s legislative office in Mt. Eden to accept his proclamation.

Torres, 33, has relived the incident. In the last few days he’s had several sleepless nights, much of it from the pain in reaching for the little girl and bringing her to safety.  “I remember waking up at 2 or 5 a.m. I feel like I have so much pain. Like, I have hot arms; my legs too. I remember I wake up I told mom, ‘Ma, my arm is killing me so give me something. Give me Motrin,’” Torres recalled in an interview with the Norwood News.

The recognition has also gone beyond plaques for Torres, who gets stopped by from strangers near his home simply wanting to embrace him. “They say, ‘Thank you; thank you. God bless you. You are the real hero for the neighborhood,’” said Torres, who lives near the Kingsbridge Road station.

Torres, a Honduras native, was on his way to work at BYA Contractors, which renovates apartments. For the last eleven years he’s been taking the train. Ferni, who lives three blocks from Torres’ house, was on her way to school with her father, Fernando Balbuena. It remains unclear why Balbuena killed himself.

“I didn’t expect for the baby to live three blocks from my house,” said Torres.

Torres was supposed to report back to work next Monday, but he’s got another proclamation to accept.

admin

Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.