A Jamaica Queens, N.Y. man survived a knife-stabbing to the back following an argument that escalated into a fight Tuesday.
Medical personnel quickly transported Andrew Hardy, 53, to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center after he walked into a nearby Queen's McDonald's with the cutter gouged in his back. He was reportedly stabbed upon attempting to disperse a group of bottle-throwing men on Sutphin Boulevard, located near 91st street and the Jamaica Station Long Island Railroad, subway, and AirTrain stop, according to The New York Post.
"He was cool and calm. But you could tell he was shaken up," said Michael Green, a friend of Hardy's . "I went to pull the knife out, but someone said, No, no! It might have hit an artery! The next thing you know, there [Hardy] goes, telling me he's got a knife in his back. He came to me. He said, 'Mike man, I was stabbed in the back man.' He was scared, he was shaking."
"I'm pretty sure he was on the phone talking to somebody in his family or a loved one," bystander Tromaine Yancey told WCBS Channel 2 about Hardy's time on his cell phone while in the McDonald's. "He was talking to them and telling them it might be the last time he's speaking to them, he just wanted them to hear his voice. Everybody was standing there to make sure he didn't fall backwards on the knife - which Hardy is glad he survived.
"I'm blessed to be alive," said Hardy. "It was just a fight and it escalated into something bigger. They hit me from behind so I couldn't see them - but I have an idea who it was."
The possible perpetrator donned a white t-shirt according to police officers who spoke with The Post.
"They could have killed him," said Hardy's mother Alice. "I had just come from a funeral - and when I got the call about him, I thought I'd have to go to another. He just does a little drinking, that's it. He doesn't bother nobody. He's not a troublemaker. He does not get in any trouble."
No arrests were made in the case, as of Tuesday night.
