With no ambulance money and a broken wrist, he called an Uber to get to the ER — the unexpected phone call turned his life around
Sometimes, you meet the kindest people in times when you are in pain. A man named Joey Romano, who was skateboarding near the University of Texas at Austin seven years ago, experienced this firsthand. He went off course to avoid a car, but in that moment, he banged into a ditch and broke his wrist. Romano then made a decision, which he did not know would change his life. He chose not to call an ambulance, but instead, booked an Uber. On June 9, 2018, Romano posted a photo from that day on Reddit and introduced Beni Lukumu, his Uber driver. He shared that Lukumu was the one who took him to the hospital and stayed with him the whole time. Romano revealed, "I didn't have very good insurance, and I was worried about the cost," as reported by TODAY on Wednesday, December 31, 2025.
When Lukumu arrived at the location, Romano was still trying to get up but could not. Seeing him lying on the ground in pain, Lukumu carefully helped him into the car and adjusted his seat to reduce movement. He drove Romano to an urgent care center. But, observing the severity of his injury, the doctors referred him to the emergency room. Romano didn't expect what happened next. Lukumu refused to charge him for the ride and stayed by his side since Romano had no family nearby. Lukumu, who himself immigrated to the United States from the Congo at the age of 25, understood the loneliness and pain of being away from loved ones. "It wasn't even a question for me," Lukumu told the outlet, explaining why he chose to say yes despite having a full day at work. "I was staying with Joey. He needed somebody to be by his side."
At the hospital, Lukumu helped Romano sign in to the ER and sat beside him from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. He did not even think about the rides and income he was missing by helping someone he had met only hours before. Romano said, "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." Later, when Romano's grandmother arrived from Houston and offered to pay Lukumu for everything, he denied it. Instead, he accepted an invitation to join them for dinner. This marked the beginning of their friendship, which has now lasted more than seven years.
Lukumu, who now works in insurance in Austin, was completely unaware of the fact that his kindness came at a very fragile moment of Romano's life. In 2008, Romano lost his brother, Johnny, to leukemia. He was just 10 years old, and the loss left deep emotional scars. Romano expressed, "After losing my brother... and experiencing so much loss beyond that… I just became really insular."
Romano now makes it a point to help others whenever he can. "That one act of kindness helped me see the good in the world again," he said. "Beni absolutely changed my life," he added. Talking to the outlet, Romano mentioned that they check in on each other a couple of times a year.
This is my uber driver Beni, he took me to the hospital and keeping me company since most of my family lives out of the state.
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