Damon Mootoo heard so many horror stories about New York that he refused to ask for directions when he got lost. The man, who was new to the city, remained lost for five days.

Mootoo, 32, was shivering on a sidewalk begging for water when Michael Bharath took notice. He made Mootoo a sandwich and drove him back to his brother's house in South Jamaica, Queens where he was staying.

Mootoo suffered from dehydration and frostbite. He was taken to the Jamaica hospital for treatment.

Only 12 hours after he arrived in New York on Wednesday he decided to take a walk. He did not get far before becoming disoriented by the busy streets he was not used to in Guyana.

He said he slept in an abandoned car one night and under a piece of wood the next to shield him from temperatures that dipped into the 20s. He was too embarrassed to ask for food and too afraid to approach New Yorkers about directions home. He was also afraid he would be deported if he talked to anyone even though he owned a permanent resident card.

Bharath saw Mootoo on his way home from church. He said he enjoys helping others.

He said, "When I see people in need, I try to help them. He was in need, and I'm pretty sure that within a couple more hours he would have been a dead man."

Mootoo said he might go home to Guyana after the ordeal.

His brother Roger Miller said, "When we saw him, he was just crying. He said he was trying to find his way back. He said he was just walking all over. He was scared. He heard all the stories about New York."