Two eighth graders hailed as heroes for helping a woman to safety after a fall

    NEW YORK (WCBS/WLNY) -- Two eighth graders in Queens are being hailed as heroes after their quick thinking helped a woman who had taken a bad fall near their school.

"She was bleeding really bad"

Classmates and lifelong friends Colin Winn and Christian Fiorillo walk home together every day after school. But one of their walks wasn't like the rest.

"We usually stop by the deli, so we stopped by the deli, and as we were coming back around, there was a woman, and she was walking in front of us. And then, she tripped, and she was bleeding really bad," Winn said.

The boys leapt into action.

"I was trying to think of the right thing to do and how to stop the bleeding from her nose," Fiorillo said.

They called an ambulance and grabbed napkins from the deli to staunch the bleeding. As she was rushed to safety, she noticed their uniforms from Saint Gregory the Great Catholic Academy in Bellerose.

"I need to pay it forward"

Later, school principal Joseph Paniccia said he received an email of gratitude from the woman who fell, Janet Miranda, who was recovering with a broken nose and torn rotator cuff.

Paniccia decided to organize a ceremony along with Assembly Member David Weprin to honor the students.

"We gave them an official Assembly citation for special recognition, which they certainly deserve. They're really, in my opinion, real heroes," Weprin said.

In the front row was Miranda herself.

"Clearly, their families brought up two wonderful kids. The kindness was just amazing," she said. "All I know is I need to pay it forward."

The students said instinct told them to step in, and they were not looking for praise.

"I think it's just good knowing what we did was right and that we could help somebody," Winn said.