After a deranged stranger threw sulfuric acid on Juanita Jimenez’s face inside a Brooklyn train station, she started to speak out about how the Big Apple needs more police and health resources to ensure the safety of those dwelling there.
The New York Post reported that subway crime is up almost 20% in New York City, and something needs to change if people can start to feel safe again.
Jimenez, 22, experienced one of the most horrible incidents of her life on December 2, 2022. The life-changing incident took place at the Winthrop Street 2/5 station, as the young woman was en route to her job as a personal care assistant at Kings County Hospital.
At some point during her commute, a woman later identified as Rodlin Gravesande suddenly threw sulfuric acid in Jimenez’s face, according to a second report.
“I always thought something like this can’t happen to me – I’m such a nice person, it couldn’t be me…[but] it really could just be anybody. We didn’t get into an argument, I didn’t know her, I didn’t have anything with her and it still occurred,” Jimenez said.
“I could tell people to stay safe, but even when you’re minding your business and trying to stay safe, something like this could still happen, which is why mental health is so important for everybody,” Jimenez continued. “Most of the time, our abusers and assaulters are people that have mental health and disabilities.”
The report noted that Jimenez saw Gravesande, 34, on the subway flailing her arms and acting in a disturbing manner. “I just had a gut feeling that something was weird. But I didn’t think something would happen to me.”
“I felt the pain immediately – it felt like my face was on fire.”
“I thought it was poison.
“I was panicking and just crying because I didn’t understand why me. It was just a rollercoaster of emotions at that time,” Jimenez said. The young woman spent about a week in the Burn Unit at Jacobi Medical Center in The Bronx, per the report.
Jimenez suffered third-degree burns on her face following the attack. Gravesande was arrested about a month after the attack in Atlanta, Georgia. The 22-year-old said her attacker could face up to 10 years in prison for the attack, but she insists that “[i]n ten years, I’ll still be doing surgery, I’ll still be having experiences from PTSD and she’ll be free, which doesn’t feel right.”
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