A GoFundMe campaign has been created for a 27-year-old college student from Austin who sustained serious injuries during a recent stabbing incident on a CapMetro bus. The event unfolded on March 13, when Aiden Hearn, who is legally blind and has relied on public transportation for the past decade, witnessed a violent attack on another passenger.
While riding the No. 3 “Burnet/Menchaca” bus to work, Hearn saw a man assaulting another individual with a knife. Driven by instinct, he intervened without hesitation. “Before I could even fully comprehend what I was seeing, I just moved,” Hearn recounted. “My only thought was I didn’t want him to kill the other gentleman or hurt him anymore.”
In his attempt to protect the victim, Hearn found himself stabbed multiple times in his hands and one leg. “It’s kind of blurry and confusing in my memory,” he explained. After managing to escape the bus, a bystander quickly helped him by applying a tourniquet to his leg, an action that a doctor later indicated might have saved him from losing it.
While waiting for emergency services to arrive, Hearn was comforted by a woman who held him close, helping him cope as he began to go into shock. “She was just holding me close and telling me, ‘It’s OK,'” he said. Reflecting on her support, Hearn expressed gratitude, noting, “While the gentleman might have saved my leg, I think she saved a part of my soul.” He described her presence as grounding and comforting in the wake of such a terrifying experience.
Now recuperating at home with his family, Hearn faces a lengthy recovery process. A friend of the family, Margaret Smith, has initiated a GoFundMe campaign, anticipating that medical expenses could exceed $100,000. “Aidan really did something heroic here. He really put a lot of people’s safety in front of his own well-being,” Smith stated, emphasizing the need to alleviate Hearn’s financial burden.
Smith also mentioned that Hearn would be unable to work during his recovery. “With that arterial damage to his leg, he is kind of having to relearn how to walk,” she explained. “It was a pretty significant wound.” Hearn’s colleagues at Dragon’s Lair Comics & Fantasy Austin praised his actions as “literal superhero stuff,” highlighting his character and willingness to help others in dangerous situations.
To date, the GoFundMe campaign has raised over $56,000, with the goal of covering Hearn’s medical costs entirely. Smith expressed a hopeful vision: “My pie in the sky goal would be for Aiden to be able to quit working for a year and just go back to college.” However, she acknowledged the more immediate goal of ensuring he isn’t burdened by debt from this incident.
Currently, Hearn is on a break from school as he saves money for tuition, with plans to study crisis management at Austin Community College upon his return. “I feel like my personal talents could probably do a lot of good somewhere, if I can help other people in crisis,” he remarked.
Despite the traumatic experience, Hearn remains passionate about public transit. “I still believe very strongly in public transit,” he affirmed. “I still believe very strongly in the good it can do for a lot of people who might have difficulties getting around otherwise.”
Hearn also expressed his desire for the other passenger injured in the stabbing to receive support and recognition. “He hasn’t had quite the same public attention or public support as I have,” Hearn noted, urging the community to keep the victim and his family in their thoughts and prayers.
In connection with the attack, 54-year-old Rogerio Martinez Jr. has been arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to authorities in Austin.
