a real one. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/03/n...age&adxnnlx=1167840088-Np5wtpig+b2OWgCARd36cw [rquoter]A Man Down, a Train Arriving, and a Stranger Makes a Choice By CARA BUCKLEY It was every subway rider’s nightmare, times two. Who has ridden along New York’s 656 miles of subway lines and not wondered: “What if I fell to the tracks as a train came in? What would I do?” And who has not thought: “What if someone else fell? Would I jump to the rescue?” Wesley Autrey, a 50-year-old construction worker and Navy veteran, faced both those questions in a flashing instant yesterday, and got his answers almost as quickly. Mr. Autrey was waiting for the downtown local at 137th Street and Broadway in Manhattan around 12:45 p.m. He was taking his two daughters, Syshe, 4, and Shuqui, 6, home before work. Nearby, a man collapsed, his body convulsing. Mr. Autrey and two women rushed to help, he said. The man, Cameron Hollopeter, 20, managed to get up, but then stumbled to the platform edge and fell to the tracks, between the two rails. The headlights of the No. 1 train appeared. “I had to make a split decision,” Mr. Autrey said. So he made one, and leapt. Mr. Autrey lay on Mr. Hollopeter, his heart pounding, pressing him down in a space roughly a foot deep. The train’s brakes screeched, but it could not stop in time. Five cars rolled overhead before the train stopped, the cars passing inches from his head, smudging his blue knit cap with grease. Mr. Autrey heard onlookers’ screams. “We’re O.K. down here,” he yelled, “but I’ve got two daughters up there. Let them know their father’s O.K.” He heard cries of wonder, and applause. Power was cut, and workers got them out. Mr. Hollopeter, a student at the New York Film Academy, was taken to St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center. He had only bumps and bruises, said his grandfather, Jeff Friedman. The police said it appeared that Mr. Hollopeter had suffered a seizure. Mr. Autrey refused medical help, because, he said, nothing was wrong. He did visit Mr. Hollopeter in the hospital before heading to his night shift. “I don’t feel like I did something spectacular; I just saw someone who needed help,” Mr. Autrey said. “I did what I felt was right.”[/rquoter]
I clicked on this thread because I thought it was something about the TV show -- I'm glad I did. What a selfless act! I often wonder what I would do it I had a split second to react. I'd like to think I would act but who knows.
i don't think i could have done it. not only would i have not known what to do, i just don't think i'd have the balls, particularly with my kids standing right there.
I saw this story on the news last night great story. I doubt most of us would know what to do without actually facing it. Something like that happens so fast its almost an instinctual reaction. In the story I saw Autrey said that his Navy training helped him make a rapid decision to not only jump down there but also whether to try to pull the man out or to get down.
I have to admit this was what I was thinking. Would I have the guts to leap down there, especially with my two girls nearby? Ugh, probably not, as with dozens of other people who were looking on I guess. Just a fantastic story. I hadn't heard the "grease on the cap" part until I read this version of the story.
I'm glad it worked out for him. You can't know before-hand that two people would be able to fit under the train. Probably, it was a dumb decision given what he knew at the time, but I guess I'm glad he did it and glad it worked.
The "well" between the tracks and the bottom of the train has an average clearance of 24 inches (I learned that from the paper this morning, I didn't know that). I've often wondered what I would do if I was shoved off or fell off a platform. And I've imagined laying in the track well myself. I'm sure if this guy actually thought about what he did, he wouldn't have done it. But man! What a story he's got to tell now!
exactly! that's some thing you see and react in seconds. there is no time to think. and that's when heroes are born. great story.
Na this guy isn't a hero. People like James Brown, who beat their wifes, wave guns at people for using their private bathroom, take every illegal drug imaginable, assault cops, but can dance and sing pretty damn good are true heroes..... Anyways sorry for that little rant. I'm glad to finally hear a good hero story on tv instead of all the celebrity ass kissing hero stories. I'm not trying to rip on James Brown cause he's dead, but my god I love this guy's story. I don't think I'd have the balls or instinct to do what he did, especially if my daughters were watching. Great guy. I personally would like to meet him.
