Injured student calls Uber instead of ambulance to save money — ends up gaining a lifelong friend
For Lukumu, he didn’t notice missing work hours, because his new friend mattered to him the most.
Good times bring people from all over to be by your side, while bad phases often leave us alone. When a broke college student called an Uber in 2018, instead of an ambulance after breaking his wrist, he never imagined he would find a friend and a brother for life.
Seven years ago, a young senior college student named Joey Romanao was skateboarding near the University of Texas at Austin when he was about to run into a car. To avoid crashing, he swerved, but unfortunately ended up in a ditch, which broke his wrist. However, Romano was concerned about not having good insurance and hence decided to call an Uber instead of an ambulance. "I didn’t have very good insurance, and I was worried about the cost," he said. Soon, Uber driver Beni Lukumu arrived and saw Romano still lying on the ground. So, he proceeded to carefully lift Romano and help him recline on the passenger's seat. They soon headed to the urgent care, but since the injuries were too serious, he had to be taken to the emergency room. Lukumu realized that Romano did not have his family nearby to help him. Being a person who migrated from Congo at the age of 25, Lukumu understood the pain of living away from one's loved ones.
He decided to drive Romanao to the hospital at no charge and stayed by his side. "It wasn’t even a question for me," he said. Romano was surprised to find a kind stranger waiting from 2 to 8 p.m. at the ER. "I was on a morphine drip, and I remember feeling glad he was there. He has this warm presence, and strangely, it felt like we had known each other forever." But for Lukumu, he didn’t even notice missing work hours, because his new friend mattered to him the most. Later, when it was time to be discharged, Romano's grandmother arrived from Houston and offered Lukumu payment, but the kind driver declined. However, he agreed to join them for dinner, marking the start of a friendship that still continues seven years later. While it may have seemed like a simple act of kindness to Lukumu, his gesture had a huge impact. He met Romano at one of the lowest points in his life, right after he lost his brother Johnny to leukemia at the age of 10 in 2008.
Meeting Lukumu helped Romano cope with the grief he had been struggling with for many years. "That one act of kindness helped me see the good in the world again," Romano said. Lukumu, who now works in an insurance firm in Austin, hopes people will glean a message from their story — about how simple acts of compassion can change lives. A study by the University of Hong Kong in 2022 found that both receiving compassion from others and practicing self-compassion help university students overcome adversity and build resilience. These compassionate practices enable individuals to face challenges, recover from setbacks, and maintain emotional well-being.
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