PORT NECHES, Texas — In a tight knit community, there's always help around the corner, even from those who least expect it.
“My staff members said, 'did you know that a police officer brought one of our students to school today?' And I said no," said Port Neches Intermediate Principal Kimberly Carter.
10-year-old Lillie Hernandez was on her way to school when her bike started to have some trouble.
“All of a sudden, it stopped like it did on Monday. And I looked at the chain, and the chain popped off fully," Hernandez said.
That's when Port Neches-Groves Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Mike Gonzales saw Hernandez with a Port Neches police officer, and stopped to help.
“The officer was like, 'do you know who this is?' And I was like, 'no, sir.' And then he said, 'this is Dr. Gonzales, he is the superintendent'," said Hernandez.
After initially helping Hernandez put the chain back on her bike, she rode down the street and her chain popped off once more. Dr. Gonzales then told the officer to bring Hernandez to school.
“Mr. Gonzales picked up my bike and put it in the back of his truck," Hernandez told 12News.
The officer dropped her off at school and Hernandez spent the whole day wondering what happened to her bike.
“I was like, is he gonna bring it back? I'm worried," she said.
But after a phone call was made home to Hernandez's mom, word quickly started to spread about the helping hands of Dr. Gonzales.
“Dr. Gonzales brought that child's bike to his home, fixed her bicycle and brought it back to her," Carter said.
With the school day at an end, Hernandez was surprised when she was reunited with her bike.
“At the end of the day at dismissal, she had her bike and she was grinning from ear to ear, and she said, 'Ms. Carter, did you hear that the doctor fixed my bike?'," said Carter.
It's not just Hernandez who's thankful for the selfless action.
“He definitely went above and beyond by going and fixing it. It was the right time and right place," said Veronica Vidalier, Hernandez's mother
"I won't stop thanking him until high school," Hernandez vowed.