MANHATTAN (PIX11) — Brooklyn Uber driver Fritz Sam was recognized Wednesday night at the Ziegfeld Ballroom as the Red Cross’ 2023 Good Samaritan Hero at its “Heroes Among Us” gala.
Last August, Sam made a detour while driving a passenger to LaGuardia Airport. Sam spotted a house fire and immediately pulled over to help.
“I feel like what I did wasn’t a big deal,” said Sam.
The Red Cross, however, begs to differ. It took a team of people months to select Sam as this year’s recipient.
“We got the committee together, we go through the background and stories, we cry a lot…and then we make our choice,” said Mary Barneby, Regional CEO of the Red Cross of Greater New York. “We think he’s such a great example of the kindness and the compassion that New Yorkers’ have for one another.”
Sam believes that the same kindness and compassion are something we all have within ourselves. He said that doing big things — like rescuing people from a fire — doesn’t seem so daunting if you start with little acts of kindness.
“It’s like muscle memory,” said Sam. “You’ve done all those other little things that you feel like it’s a new baseline. So it’s not a big deal.”
