SEPTA rider stabbed after fare dispute at 8th Street Station

A man is sharing his story of survival with Fox 29. He nearly died after being stabbed on a SEPTA train over the weekend. He's now recovering in the hospital and says he is thankful to be alive. And he spoke to our Jennifer Lee. And Jen, he says his attacker is still out there somewhere. Yes, SEPTA police are investigating. And Nigel Hilton says he is shaken up because he believes this man is a danger to everyone. He says he was stabbed merely for defending the two women he was with on the train. And some of the images you're about to see may be disturbing. happy to be alive uh i have a 12 year old son that you know that's why i was fighting for to make sure i could go see him again from his hospital room at Jefferson, Nigel Hilton says he's physically recovering but forever traumatized after he was stabbed on a SEPTA train this guy this guy's a danger to everybody like anybody that is just walking around with a knife and his first instinct in an argument is to try to murder a person he's he's not fit for society Hilton says on Saturday afternoon, he was with two other women, a friend and her aunt, who were going through the turnstile when the suspect and a woman pushed through it with them to avoid paying the fare at the 8th and Market Station. My friends didn't like that, of course, so they had some words for the guy, basically telling him, you know, why are you pushing women over $2? Hilton says that argument continued onto the B3 train, and that's when Hilton tried to de-escalate the situation, but the opposite happens what i did was i told turned around told them to calm down um there's no reason for you to be arguing with two women uh that's when his attention kind of turned towards me after he pulled the knife out he ran that's when i realized that i was stabbed uh i basically jammed my fingers in in there and felt the artery shooting out blood so i held it as tight as i could and i was telling them i'm losing a lot of blood i gotta get to the hospital In a statement, a SEPTA spokesperson says, quote, the safety and security of our passengers is SEPTA's top priority. Violent crime on the system is at its lowest level in more than a decade. However, even one incident is too many. SEPTA transit police are working around the clock on this investigation to hold the offender accountable and deliver justice for the victim. Hilton says this is his coworker and friend, Cherry, who helped save his life along with her aunt. And he also wants to thank a female Philadelphia police officer who heroically intervened to make sure he was rushed out of the SEPTA station. She was like, y'all grab his legs, y'all grab his head, I'll grab his legs. And they just rushed me up the steps as fast as possible. If she's watching and she sees this, I, you know, I owe my life to you. And I really, I just want to thank you. She sees this interview. We reached out to Philadelphia police to try and identify that heroic cop. As for Hilton, he says he's hoping to get out of the hospital in a few days. SEPTA Transit police say they're making progress on the investigation. Back to you guys. Just so, so scary and glad he's on the mend for sure. All right, Jennifer, thank you.