Nicholas Pellegrino, a 29-year-old San Francisco Catholic high school teacher and track coach, is recovering after his throat was slashed in a train robbery while traveling near Milan, Italy — a survival he and his surgeons call “miraculous.”
As the Chronicle reports, Pellegrino, who teaches religion and coaches track at Archbishop Riordan High School, was traveling through San Giuliano Milanese on July 15 while visiting friends and family in Italy. As SFGate reports, shortly after boarding a train bound for Florence, Pellegrino noticed four men in a nearby row who appeared to be watching him.
“I would look up, and they would look away, but then they’d continue to look back and eye me out,” he told Staten Island Advance, his hometown newspaper. The men then suddenly rushed him, and he was stabbed in the neck in the chaos. They ran off with his luggage and personal belongings, including a crucifix he was wearing.
“I had no doubt in my mind — if I didn’t get help soon, I was going to die,” he told the Chronicle. Bleeding heavily, Pellegrino staggered to the platform at the next stop, pressed his shirt against the wound, and screamed for help.
As Daily Mail reports, paramedics arrived about 15 minutes later and rushed him to a hospital in San Donato Milanese, where doctors determined his jugular artery had been grazed. He lost more than a liter of blood. “Even the surgeons are saying it was a miracle,” he told the Chronicle.
Italian authorities arrested four suspects — men from Tunisia and Morocco — hours later at a train station about an hour away. Police told Pellegrino they believed the same group had attacked a cabdriver the night before and another train passenger earlier that day.
Pellegrino spent four days in the hospital before being discharged. In addition to his injuries, he lost his laptop, passport, and luggage.
Word of the assault quickly spread to colleagues and students. Nate Simon, assistant principal at Riordan, called Pellegrino “an integral part” of the school. “Our thoughts and prayers are with him as he deals with this terrifying incident,” he said.
A GoFundMe campaign* started by former students has raised over $43,000 to help cover medical expenses and replace stolen items. “I would never have expected that outpouring of money and support,” Pellegrino said. “It shows the impact you have being an educator is more than people might think.”
Pellegrino, who is deeply religious, said the attack has only deepened his faith. “I’m convinced the hand of God worked a miracle to ensure I did not lose my life that day.”
*Content warning: The main photo on the GoFundMe page is a bit graphic, as it shows Pellegrino being treated at the scene.
Image via LinkedIn
