A New York student's first day back to school took a potentially tragic turn, but then three strangers came to the rescue.
Alexa Conto, 20, was en route to class Monday at the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising College when a fainting spell landed her unconscious on the subway tracks, New York Daily News reports.
A tragic outcome was avoided when three good Samaritans leapt onto the tracks of the MTA "D" Train, removing the student from the path of an oncoming train, which came to an abrupt halt just at the right moment.
"I'd like to thank them for everything. I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for them," Conto told the Daily News. "They're just genuinely nice people. You don't see that a lot.
The third-year fashion student was given stitches in her head and treated for a broken foot at Lutheran Medical Center on Tuesday as a result of her fall onto the tracks.
While she recalls being overwhelmed by dizziness, she has no recollection of the fall, itself.
"Once I closed my eyes, I think I fainted," Conto recalls. "I was on the train tacks, and I remember people getting me up."
So far, the Contos have only identified one of the strangers: 35-year-old administrative assistant Brittany Cruz, ABC News reports. The family is determined to locate the others in order to adequately thank them for their heroic actions.
In the meantime, the student's mother, Alicia Conto, shared a message of thanks with ABC News.
"Just please, if you have children, you know how I feel and I just really, really want to say thank you."
