The husband and father of two says the suspect caught his eye because he was acting strange.
The fact that he keep his eye on him and followed his instinct probably saved his life and others.
"He sliced me right here when I was trying to take him down," Joe Lozito said.
Joe Lozito says it was the fight of his life, a fight for the chance to see his wife and sons again.
"The reality is if I didn't do something he was going to hurt me worse or maybe hurt others," Lozito recalled.
Lozito was riding the No. 3 train uptown Saturday doing his regular commute from suburban Philadelphia to his box office job at Avery Fisher Hall.
In between the 34th and 42nd street stops the suspect made his move.
"This guy walks up to the door and he was like five feet away from me. He pulled out knife. He said you're going to die," Lozito said.
Instead of running, the 6'2", 265 pound dad tackled Maksim Gelman and fought to get the knife out of 23-year-old's hand.
In that scuffle the suspect allegedly sliced his head, face, finger and arm.
"There was just blood pouring out of me. I've never seen anything like it. I said I need to get to the hospital. I said I might die here. I don't want to die on the subway train," Lozito said.
His wife Andrea Lozito said, "We've been together so long I couldn't imagine my life without him."
Joseph, 10 and Dominick, 7, say there's no doubt their dad is a hero; words that humble him each time he hears it.
