Man saves life of teenager on subway tracks by using himself as a shield

SVZ · January 3rd, 2007, 01:38 PM

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wesley Autrey faced a harrowing choice, as he tried to rescue a teenager who had fallen off a platform onto a subway track in front of an approaching train: Struggle to hoist him back up to the platform in time, or take a chance on finding safety under the train.

At first, he tried to pull the young man up, but he was afraid he wouldn't make it in time and they would both be killed.

"So I just chose to dive on top of him and pin him down," he said. (Watch how shallow the rut is Video)

Autrey and the teen landed in the drainage trough between the rails Tuesday as a southbound No. 1 train entered the 137th Street/City College station.

The train's operator saw them on the tracks and applied the emergency brakes.

Two cars passed over the men -- with about 2 inches to spare, Autrey said. The troughs are typically about 12 inches deep but can be as shallow as 8 or as deep as 24, New York City Transit officials said.

Relatives identified the teen as Cameron Hollopeter, 19, of Littleton, Massachusetts, a student at the New York Film Academy.

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."

Authorities said Hollopeter had suffered a medical problem, but was in stable condition at a hospital.

Autrey, 50, of Manhattan, declined medical attention.

Autrey had been waiting for a train with his two young daughters. After the train stopped, he heard bystanders scream and yelled out: "We're OK down here but I've got two daughters up there. Let them know their father's OK," The New York Times reported.

While spectators cheered Autrey, hugged him and hailed him as a hero, he didn't see it that way.

"I don't feel like I did something spectacular; I just saw someone who needed help," he told the Times. "I did what I felt was right."

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/03/sub....ap/index.html

LynnieD · January 3rd, 2007, 02:25 PM

HOLY SHIT!! That dude is awesome! Wow....take that Tom Cruise!

misswang · January 3rd, 2007, 03:18 PM

Awww, I love hearing about stuff like this. So awesome.

DeChayz · January 3rd, 2007, 07:10 PM

Really restores your faith in humanity, doesn't it? God bless this man, he's not just a hero, he's an angel

celeb_2006 · January 5th, 2007, 08:31 PM

At first I was very moved and inspired like everyone else. Now maybe it's just me, just a scrooge, but does anyone else think his recent spotlight has been a bit too much? I thought heroes were humble, but this guy is like everywhere, even on david letterman show!

This guy I know did something similar years ago. He was at a subway stop waiting for his ride to arrive. All of a sudden he noticed someone faintly crying, as if the person was in trouble or something. No one else seemed to notice, so he went to the source and realized it was someone who had fallen onto the tracks and couldn't get up. He also realized that his ride was arriving at the station in a few minutes. So he sprinted to the tracks, helped the person get up, and assisted the person back onto the tracks. If he hadn't noticed the cries, that person would have died. His heroics weren't mentioned in the news, because he only told a few friends about it, and no one else made a big brouhoura about it.

MgMMD · January 5th, 2007, 09:10 PM

My theory is...
Why should assholes get all the attention?
Let the good guys get the press for once.

Mira · January 5th, 2007, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by celeb_2006

This guy I know did something similar years ago. He was at a subway stop waiting for his ride to arrive. All of a sudden he noticed someone faintly crying, as if the person was in trouble or something. No one else seemed to notice, so he went to the source and realized it was someone who had fallen onto the tracks and couldn't get up. He also realized that his ride was arriving at the station in a few minutes. So he sprinted to the tracks, helped the person get up, and assisted the person back onto the tracks. If he hadn't noticed the cries, that person would have died. His heroics weren't mentioned in the news, because he only told a few friends about it, and no one else made a big brouhoura about it.

No doubt if this had happened lately, it would have received the same attention. "years ago" was not the age of instant news and YouTube, etc.

suede · January 5th, 2007, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeChayz

Really restores your faith in humanity, doesn't it? God bless this man, he's not just a hero, he's an angel

I was thinking the very same...

Quote:

Originally Posted by celeb_2006

At first I was very moved and inspired like everyone else. Now maybe it's just me, just a scrooge, but does anyone else think his recent spotlight has been a bit too much? I thought heroes were humble, but this guy is like everywhere, even on david letterman show!

Really?

I still think it's a nice story, we rarely hear of heros unless they are good for media and with that, it doesn't make those that are good for media to be any less of a hero.

He's black and from NYC, it's a Harlem station and the teen is white not and not a NYer - yep THAT's good news.

Either way he placed himself in the same amount danger as the teen was in so let the guy get his 20 minutes.

Mira · January 5th, 2007, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by suede

Either way he placed himself in the same amount danger as the teen was in so let the guy get his 20 minutes.

And the money and scholarships and stuff for his kids. That was heartwarming.

suede · January 6th, 2007, 01:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mira

And the money and scholarships and stuff for his kids. That was heartwarming.

are you being sarcastic?

shit, I thought I was a jaded NYer.

if some guy saved my kid on the freakin' 1 train he and his family would be considered family.

the truth is people generally don't give a hoot about others so when someone does something good for another human being everyone wants to bitch about it because they aren't getting the positive attention for their own actions or because they've just realized what rotten, selfish human beings they've become or have always been.

Mira · January 6th, 2007, 01:19 AM

No, no. I loved that story. I thought it was great they gave him some money, and a scholarship and a trip to Disney World for the kids and some other stuff I don't remember. I'm such a sap that I even got tears in my eyes. I was happy for him.

suede · January 6th, 2007, 01:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mira

No, no. I loved that story. I thought it was great they gave him some money, and a scholarship and a trip to Disney World for the kids and some other stuff I don't remember. I'm such a sap that I even got tears in my eyes. I was happy for him.

OHHHHHHHHH (thank GOD)

I totally misunderstood, I apologize.

I got all weepy myself.

Mira · January 6th, 2007, 01:24 AM

Elisa · January 6th, 2007, 08:40 AM

I love this story and I've really enjoyed seeing him get his 15 minutes. He's more than earned it. You can tell the guy is genuinely compassionate. He's been hugging everyone he's come into contact with. We need more people like him. He's a true hero. After being inundated with the likes of arrogant people like Lohan, Spears, Hilton, etc., it's refreshing to read a story about a real person who truly gives a shit about someone else.

The only thing that disappointed me was the subway folks giving him free passes for a year. A year? Why not for life? Better yet, why didn't someone ante up a car at the very least?

AliceInWonderland · January 8th, 2007, 01:53 PM

Im glad he and his family are getting all kinds of rewards and money for his good action. I work with a guy who was in the same exact circumstance once a few years back and he actually let the guy in the tracks get hit by the train and died of course, but it just shows that a lot of ppl would not have done anything at all. I think he's a hero for what he did b/c A) it was an unnecessary good deed and B) a lot of ppl would not have done the same and C) he put his very own life in a lot of danger.