Sunday, September 29, 2013

NYC taxi crash victim gushes over rescuer on ‘Dr. Oz’

From left, Dr. Mehmet Oz , Siân Green and heroic plumber David Justino reunite for the first time since Green was struck by a cab in midtown Aug. 20.



From left, Dr. Mehmet Oz , Siân Green and heroic plumber David Justino reunite for the first time since Green was struck by a New York cab in August.




First he saved her life — and then he took her breath away.


The brave British tourist whose foot was crushed by an out-of-control taxi in New York City last month was reunited for the first time with the good Samaritan plumber who saved her life.


Siân Green hugged Dave Justino tight after the hero surprised her on “The Dr. Oz Show.” The emotional moment was taped Friday and will air Tuesday, but the Daily News got a sneak peek.


“I just, I, I, the appreciation and I just, oh, thank you,” Green, 23, exclaimed after host Dr. Mehmet Oz brought Justino on stage.


RELATED: BRITISH TOURIST WHOSE FOOT WAS SEVERED BY TAXI CAB STILL HOPES TO TOUR NEW YORK CITY


Oz was among the passersby who tended to the pretty Brit after the Aug. 20 crash at E. 49th St. and Sixth Ave. But it was Justino who used his tool belt as a tourniquet to stanch Green’s bleeding.


Her leg eventually had to be amputated below the knee, but she might have died if not for the plumber’s resourcefulness.


“You don’t have to say thank you,” Justino told Green after she finished showering him with praise. “I tried. I wasn’t even thinking … I just saw you there and the only thing I had was my belt and that’s what I needed.”


The feel-good meeting came after Green shared some inspiring words.


RELATED: PLUMBER WHO SAVED BRITISH TOURIST AFTER TAXI ACCIDENT FIRED FROM JOB


The undaunted victim, who was enjoying her first full day in New York City when the taxi jumped the curb, said she won’t let the harrowing ordeal get her down.


“I’ve got my life,” said Green, a dancer who will eventually be fitted with a prosthesis and who hopes to cut a rug again someday.


“I can be with my family and friends. I can go back to school. I can go back to work. I can enjoy my life, my boyfriend, my dogs. I’ve got too much to look forward to.”


Green’s mother was in the audience, visiting from London. So was the friend with whom she was vacationing with when disaster struck. But Green didn’t know that Justino was waiting just off stage.


RELATED: BRITISH TOURIST IN TAXI ACCIDENT IN PHYSICAL THERAPY


She told Oz she would love to thank him.


“Well, he is here today!” the host replied. “Dave Justino, come on out!”


The plumber downplayed his role in the wild scene.


“I just helped her,” he said. “She needed the help. Our heroes are Marines, a guy who knows he’s going to possibly save a life or lose his own or police officers or firemen. Those are the guys. I’m a plumber.”


The episode airs Tuesday at 4 p.m. on Fox 5.


With Stephen Rex Brown



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