Man who helped woman injured in marathon blast says she gave him strength

BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) -- One of the many people who stepped up and helped an injured stranger after the Boston Marathon bombings says the victim he helped gave him the strength to step into action.

During a press conference Tuesday, Gov. Deval Patrick asked the public to help him reunite one of the more than 170 victims with the person she says helped her through the unthinkable tragedy. The victim's name is Victoria and she only knew the man as Tyler.

FOX 25 reached out to viewers on-air and through social media in hopes of helping Victoria and Tyler reunite. Tyler called FOX 25 after one of his friends told him the governor was looking for him.

Tyler described those terrifying moments after two bombs went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon Monday afternoon. He said when he saw Victoria, he tried to calm her down by starting a conversation.

"I just saw the terror in her eyes, she was obviously in extreme pain, I just knew that I had to talk to her, that if there was nothing else I could do I could talk to her," Tyler recalled.

Tyler says he asked her for her name and then introduced himself. Victoria asked him not to leave her as she held his hand.

As Tyler tended to other injured people, he says he kept coming back to make sure Victoria was alright. He says they had some kind of "connection on a spiritual level."

While Victoria was receiving the assistance of the governor to find him, Tyler was hoping to find her too. Victoria wants to thank Tyler for standing by and Tyler wants to tell Victoria what she did for him during unthinkable tragedy.

"How much her strength helped me through the situation to help other people," Tyler said. "She just seemed like an amazing person and completely selfless at the time she was more concerned about other people getting help than herself."

Cox Media Group