The 3-year-old girl was all alone and wandering Port Richmond Avenue in /*Staten Island*/.
That's when two sanitation workers spotted her and returned her to her parents.
"My first concern was that she was going to run into the street," said Richard Nichilo, a NYC Sanitation Supervisor.
You could say Richard Nichilo has very good instincts, not to mention a good heart.
Nichilo and his partner noticed little Dayana Flores who had wandered out of her house and onto Port Richmond Avenue Thursday morning.
"I ran across the street, I picked her up, and he went knocking on doors to try to find her family," Nichilo said.
In the meantime, Nichilo tried to keep 3-year-old Dayana safe and warm.
. "She didn't cry, she just came with me. I put her in the car to keep her warm, she had no shoes or socks on," Nichilo said.
Police arrived about 10 minutes later and so did Dayana's frantic father, George who was driving around looking for her but then was so relieved.
"Yeah, I was going to give a hug to the sanitation cop to give me my daughter," George Flores, Dayana's father said.
So of course they hugged it out.
But what really makes Nichilo's day is that after trying several times to hug his new friend Dayana with no luck she finally caved in.
His smile said it all and not to mention his work ethic.
"Our guys see everything, whether it's a street light out, that we call in or something like this," Nichilo said.
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