NEW YORK, N.Y., Jan. 3, 2007
Bystander Pulls Off Daring Subway Rescue
Commuter Jumps Onto Tracks To Save Teen Who Suffered A Seizure
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Play CBS Video Video Subway Savior Speaks Subway hero Wesley Autrey and his daughters spoke with Hannah Storm. Autrey says all New Yorkers should be ready to assist their fellow citizens in need.
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Video Eye To Eye: Wesley Autrey Only On The Web: Wesley Autrey became a hero when he saved a man who fell onto the subway tracks as a train was approaching. He talks with Steve Hartman about his act of bravery.
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Video New York Subway Hero A 50-year-old man saved a stranger's life on a New York subway. The man was having a seizure, and William Autrey saved him from being run over by covering him with his body. Steve Hartman reports.
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Wesley Autrey, the Good Samaritan who jumped onto subway tracks in Manhattan to save another man from an oncoming train. (CBS/EARLY SHOW)
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Interactive The Nation We Live In Who are Americans and what do they do? A comprehensive look at our economic, sociological and racial breakdown.
Cameron Hollopeter, 19, of Littleton, Mass., fell onto the tracks at Broadway’s 137th Street station Tuesday. Another subway passenger, 50-year-old Wesley Autrey of Manhattan, was standing on the platform with his two daughters whom he was taking home so he could go to his construction job.
When Autrey saw Hollopeter fall, he quickly took action and left his daughters to jump on the tracks to bring the man to safety as an oncoming train approached.
"I didn't want the man's body to get run over,” Autrey said. “Plus, I was with my daughters and I didn't want them to see that."
Autrey jumped down onto the tracks and initially tried to pull Hollopeter up to the platform but had to decide whether he could get him up in time to avoid both of them getting hit.
"I was trying to pull him up, but his weight [was too much] plus he was fighting against me — he didn't know who I was,” Autrey told CBS station WCBS-TV.
Autrey spoke to co-anchor Hannah Storm on The Early Show about his heroics. To see the interview, click here.
Autrey said the man was still moving violently from the seizure, so he pulled him into the center of the tracks — away from the high-voltage third rail — and laid on top of him. "The only thing that popped up in my mind was, 'OK, well, go for the gutter,'" Autrey said. "So I dove in, I pinned him down and once the first car ran over us, my thing with him was to keep him still."
The subway trough between the rails, which is used for drainage, is typically about 12 inches deep but can be as shallow as 8 or as deep as 24, a New York City Transit spokesman said.
The train's operator saw someone on the tracks and put the emergency brakes on. Two cars of the train passed over the men — with about 2 inches to spare, Autrey said — before it came to a stop.
Autrey's daughters thought the train had killed their father and the teen, but were relieved to hear their father shout up from under the train that the two were fine.
Hollopeter, a student at the New York Film Academy, was taken to a hospital, where he was in stable condition with only minor injuries.
Hollopeter's stepmother, Rachel Hollopeter, said Autrey was "an angel."
"He was so heroic," she said early Wednesday in a telephone interview. "If he wasn't there, this would be a whole different call."
Onlooker Patricia Brown said Autrey, a Vietnam War veteran, "needs to be recognized as a hero." Others cheered him and hugged him outside the train station.
The incident took place around 12:45 p.m. Service on the line, which runs between the southern tip of Manhattan and the Bronx, was suspended for about 45 minutes.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 90 CommentsPosted by observer16 at 12:49 PM : Jan 04, 2007
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Ditto! "free subway rides for life!!" deserves a repost.
Wesley Autry was on Letterman show and was really quick witted and funny! I'll hazzard a guess he's been keeping God's angels busy for years! and we've never heard about those other times!
Delightful little daughters! God Bless you ALL!
I am committed to excellence and the fair treatment of all." God Bless!
Love, Respect and Salutations,
Shellback
Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for giving us some needed hope. This world, our president, should all learn from you and change their ways.
Congratulations on all your new found fame, and I hope that stays with you forever, because you deserve it. I hope the best for your family. I hope you get to fly to see Bush and show him how to love people. And show him that we are tired of people dying , we want ALL people to live , do things for others, love each other and be happy. We want a future where there is a place for all of us, even him.
I thank God that there are people like you in this world.
God bless you.
You are quite some guy and I too am proud for you.
Why do you have to throw in your stupid political opinions on such a tremedous story. This man did a wonderful thing. Don't taint it just so you can get a jab in at President Bush.
Mr. Autrey, you were already a hero when you served your country in Vietnam, and you proved you still are one. This world would be a better place with more people like you in it. Thank you
I commend you. What a selfless act.
There needs to be a whole lot more people
like you in this world.
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