Sometimes the right person ends up in our path just when we need them, and we may not even know it. In 2018, college senior Joey Romano broke his wrist while skateboarding. He knew that an ambulance would likely cost a lot of money, but he had to get to the hospital. Joey called for an Uber, never realizing that one call would change his life. Beni Lukumu arrived to pick Joey up and first took him to urgent care. When staff determined his injury needed a hospital’s attention, Beni didn’t think twice. He took Joey to the emergency room. That act of kindness changed his life. Beni Lukumu Was More Than an Uber Driver—He Became Joy Romano’s Friend Beni Lukumu told Today he knew that Joey Romano needed him that day. “It wasn’t even a question for me,” Beni said. “I was staying with Joey. He needed somebody to be by his side.” Beni stayed with Joey for more than six hours and sang to comfort his new friend. “I was on a morphine drip and I remember feeling glad he was there. He has this warm presence, and strangely, it felt like we had known each other forever,” Joey said. Joey’s grandmother arrived at the hospital and offered to pay Beni, but he politely declined. Instead, he accepted a dinner invitation that helped deepen their friendship. Joey told Today he met Beni and that it was a rough spot in his life. He’s lost his brother to leukemia and really needed the friendship. “After losing my brother… and experiencing so much loss beyond that… I just became really insular. I could barely take care of myself, let alone others,” Joey said. “I just shut down and closed myself off. I became really cold.” Joey Romano said that Beni Lukumu’s kindness changed the way he lives his life. “That one act of kindness helped me see the good in the world again,” Joey said. “Having him spend his entire day with me — a complete stranger, for no reason than the goodness of his heart, helped me to put things into perspective. Beni absolutely changed my life.” This story’s featured image is by  Klaudia Radecka/NurPhoto via Getty Images