Center City Biker Incident: Good Samaritans step up to help woman get windshield fixed
CENTER CITY - The city of Brotherly Love lives up to its name after a local breakfast restaurant owner and auto glass technician worked together to fix the windshield that was shattered in the viral Center City biker incident.
The viral video of the motorcycle rider jumping on a woman’s car and smashing the back window, with her two kids inside caught the eyes of millions, including the two men, who stepped up to help make the situation right.
"It was an unfortunate situation," Otto Glass Repair Shop owner, Otto Hernandez said. "Nobody deserves to get that act of violence or act of evil inflicted on them."
That is why he decided to step up. He says his repair shop is more than just a job for him. "I do it out of passion, not profit. Luckily, it pays the bills."
His passion and heart made for quite the good deed, fixing and re-installing the back window of the woman’s car. Hernandez said he received lots of messages from satisfied customers around the city requesting his help for the woman. "I made a short post and she commented within the first few minutes and then we made arrangements. I got the glass done."
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It was a collaborative effort, with Thomas Montgomery, owner of Wiz Café, in North Philly, who saw that same viral video and donated the glass for Hernandez to repair.
"Just seeing the violence that we usually see in this city, for one, seeing the guy pull a gun into her face, that was strike two for me. Then when she pulled out the kids, I was like, ‘Damn!’" Montgomery explained. "I have kids myself and that could’ve went way worse."
As a restaurant owner and a father, he was particularly moved, "Once I got the backstory and learned she was doing UberEats, I was like, well me having a food store, I’m constantly UberEats and Doordashing. The material doesn’t cost much. I just wanted to pay it forward. I brought the material and the window and I took her and the kids some food."
Both men say it wasn’t about the notoriety, but about doing the right thing.
"People often say that Black and brown women feel unprotected, so if you know you have the ability to step up and help out, especially if they have kids, to do the same," Montgomery said.
Hernandez added, "She was very grateful and she said, ‘I’ll never forget you.’ I was like, dang, that felt good to hear."
Both men hope their collaboration serves as an example for the community and other businesses to step and help pay it forward with kindness.