What Would You Do?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

MrsSpringsteen

Blue Crack Addict
Joined
Nov 30, 2002
Messages
29,245
Location
Edge's beanie closet
I saw this on several newscasts last night, what an amazing man to risk his life like that. People say instinct takes over before you can really think, but when a subway train is headed right towards someone and you have to make that split second choice and you are facing that kind of danger...I think it's incredible.

NEW YORK (AP) -- A quick-thinking commuter saved a young man who fell on the subway tracks by pushing him down into a trough between the rails, allowing an approaching train to pass over them, police said.

The 18-year-old man had some kind of medical problem Tuesday and fell onto the tracks, which are a few feet below platform level, police said. Wesley Autrey, of Manhattan, saw him fall, jumped down onto the tracks after him and rolled with him into the rut between the rails as a southbound train was coming in.

Autrey said he initially tried to pull the man up to the platform but had to decide whether he could get him up in time to avoid both of them getting hit.

"I just chose to dive on top of him and pin him down and pin myself down," he 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.

The subway trough, 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.

Neither man was hit by the train, police said, and Autrey, who had his two young daughters traveling with him, refused medical attention. The rescued man, whose name had not been released, was taken to a hospital, where he was in stable condition.

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.
 
Oh, God. There is no way on earth I could have done that. I would have just watched in horror.
 
Last edited:
Wesley Autrey, with his two daughters-ages 4 and 6

27173248.jpg


Autrey estimated they were under the train for 20 minutes before power to an adjacent track was cut so emergency workers could safely remove them. At St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, where Hollopeter was taken for treatment for the seizure and minor injuries, thankful family member Jeff Friedman said Hollopeter was shaken by the experience and was sedated Tuesday night.

"For someone who got run over by a train, he looks pretty damn good to me," Friedman said. "Miracles do happen, don't they?"

Friedman, 55, of New Jersey, said Hollopeter was the son of his daughter's husband and was studying to be a film director at New York Film Academy.

"He's a talented writer, but he couldn't have written the screenplay any better," Friedman said.

Hollopeter's father was on his way to New York from Massachusetts and sent thanks to Autrey, Friedman said.

"I'd like to buy him a drink, maybe a hundred drinks," Friedman said.

The near-miss occurred Tuesday at about 12:44 p.m., as Autrey and Hollopeter waited separately for a downtown No. 1 train at the 137th Street-City College station.

Autrey, who was taking his two young daughters to meet their mother downtown before heading to his job at a Brooklyn construction site, said he saw Hollopeter fall on his back on the platform and begin to convulse.

After running to a transit worker to call for help, Autrey said he returned to Hollopeter, who was still convulsing and choking. Autrey got a pen from another rider and forced it between Hollopeter's jaws. Hollopeter soon appeared to recover, and even stood up and walked on the platform, Autrey said.

But then Hollopeter stumbled and fell onto the tracks, and Autrey jumped after him.

A Navy veteran who grew up in Brewton, Ala., Autrey was humble about his heroism.

"I'm just saying, I saw someone in distress and went to his aid," Autrey said.

The No. 1 train pulled in and tried to stop to avoid hitting the pair as they lay in a pool of dirty water in the trough. Autrey called out from under the train.

"I said, 'There are two little girls up there," he said, referring to his daughters Shuqui, 6, and Syshe, 4. "Let them know their daddy is OK.'"
 
BonosSaint said:
Oh, God. There is no way on earth I could have done that. I would have just watched in horrow.

Yeah, me too.

I'm also so glad the guy who jumped in didn't get killed in front of his daughters.

Wow. I hadn't read the second article before I started this post...it's even more incredible. How wonderfully lucky for that young guy that he was there and was able to do that.
 
Last edited:
That's what I'm really trying to wrap my head around-did his instinct take over any thoughts of that, of being killed in front of his daughters and leaving them fatherless? I don't want to criticize the guy, but I just wonder. Maybe it has something to do with his background as a Vietnam veteran-I have no idea, just speculating.
 
wow...that is amazing...don't know if i would do that, particularly if my kids (if i had any) were there. I have a feeling that i'd be more inclined NOT to do what this guy did, but who knows. I guess you can never tell til you are in the situation!
 
It doesn't necessarily sound from the article like he reckoned on getting stuck there at the point where he jumped down to pull the other guy up, even if the whole sequence was pretty much "instinct taking over." I don't think I could handle NOT attempting to save the person in that situation, but like mandy said, I guess you can never really know until it happens. As a parent, though, I don't really think the fact of having kids, or even of having them with you, would likely change your fundamental instincts one way or the other in a situation like that. You might shout "stay here" or something before jumping, but at that moment it's someone else in mortal danger, not your kids, so that's what would be foremost in your mind.

Wonderful act of heroism, in any case. And yeah, I'd be inclined to guess that having served in combat would make you more likely to react in that way.
 
Last edited:
Wow, great story! Any socialogist will tell you that human beings have NO instincts and everything we know is learned behavior. Sounds like this guy was just plain old intelligent. He knew how much room was down below and he evaluated the situation quickly. The real heroes always proclaim to NOT be one like this man. Sounds like this man's parents did a good job raising him. We need more stories like this in the world.
 
He was the one, who helped the guy when he was convulsing before.
Later this man didn't hesitate to jump after the guy to help him get away from the tracks, or as he realized that wasn't possible to save the guy from the oncoming train.

So he took action two times, surely not being the only one in the station.

I think that shows that this man had learned a different behaviour as the other people there. Whether it was his nature, through the raising by his parents or through his time in Vietnam might be a good question.

I don't know how I would've reacted. Maybe I would've been stuck.
I also can't say if I would react different if I had kids.
 
That story made me cry. Absolutely amazing. The word "hero" gets thrown around a lot, but if anybody deserves such a title, it's him.
 
We never know how we will react in a life or death situation; some people focus and take action, others may not.
 
^Yep, big time. I'm guessing he jumped down planning to pull the guy up, I think the hard decision was whether to lay down with the guy and chance the train, or jump up & save himself.

Reading about the depths of the trenches, if it were me and the thing was 8, 10, 12 inches deep I'd have been screwed.
 
MrPryck2U said:
Wow, great story! Any socialogist will tell you that human beings have NO instincts and everything we know is learned behavior

Assuming we all learn the same behavior, why was he the only one who did that?

If that is learned behavior, where and how do we learn that?
 
I have learned that there are so many different theories on sociology you can't say it is like that.
For example, some say the parents and the way they raised their children is very important.

Others again state, the influence of the parents only is very strong in the first years of life, but later the whole surroundings have a much greater influence on the way a child develops.

Otherwise, siblings for example couldn't turn out so different they often do.
 
This is New York. Sadly, there are a lot folks out there who would choose not to do anything for various reasons.
1- They were scared and felt they could do nothing.
2- They didn't know what to do.
3- They couldn't care less.

Hopefully, this man's actions could teach others that, indeed, anyone can make a difference. I would assume that at least his own children learned.
 
I would think for the majority of people it is the fear factor that holds them back-the fear paralyzes you, and you fear for your own life and safety, and you can't think clearly because of it. I still can't believe that most people couldn't care less, I think most people still do.

I guess if you've been through Vietnam or any other war, fear is easier to deal with. You have to act in war in spite of what at times must be unimaginable fear.
 
^ I'd agree with that in a dangerous situation like this, however concerning many others (like when the man first started convulsing, for instance--which BTW, you should actually not put objects in seizuring people's mouths)...
MrPryck2U said:
2- They didn't know what to do.
...that much can be remedied by taking a basic first aid/CPR/AED course, which in the US can be done through a local Red Cross chapter. It takes only one day of your time (you do have to get recertified periodically--every 3 years for basic first aid, annually for CPR) and it costs only about $40. That is such invaluable knowledge to have; I wish everyone was required to do it.
 
Here in Germany you are required to take a First Aid course before you can get your driver's license.

That's pretty good, but they should make it mandatory to take the course again every few years. You take this course once, and even a few years later you forgot more or less everything.
 
I just saw a clip about this on the news and he said he had a tough time sleeping last night because of all the thoughts running through his head. I couldn't help but laugh when he said one of those thoughts was "That was kinda stupid." Still he said he'd do it again.
 
If I saw that happen. I would probably do the same even if it meant me pushing him under the platform.
 
Donald Trump is supposedly giving him 10 grand, and the school that Cameron goes to gave him 5,000 and two 5,000 scholarships. David Letterman wants him on his show, I think he's on tonight.

He met Cameron's father yesterday and kissed him at the news conference. I just get the feeling there is something special about Wesley Autrey.




Autrey gave this account: He was in the station in upper Manhattan on Tuesday afternoon when Hollopeter, also waiting on the platform, seemed to collapse during a seizure. Autrey used a pen to get Hollopeter's tongue out of his throat. Hollopeter stood up, then staggered and fell between the tracks.

As the train neared, Autrey pinned Hollopeter in the trough by lying on top of him, face to face. But the student kept struggling. "Don't move!" Autrey said. "Or one of us is going to lose a leg."

Subway car brakes screeched. One car passed overhead, then a second. Then came silence, followed by the wailing from the platform of his daughters, who'd just seen their father run over.

"We're OK," Autrey yelled to bystanders on the platform. "I got two daughters up there. Let 'em know their father's OK!"

"Who are you?" asked Hollopeter.

"Someone who saved your life," replied Autrey.

They waited 20 minutes until technicians turned off power on the subway's high-voltage third rail and were helped out.

Hollopeter remained hospitalized Wednesday in stable condition, recovering from cuts and bruises.

A relative, Jeff Friedman, told reporters that although Hollopeter is quite talented, "even he couldn't write the screenplay any better."

railcar_rescue.gif
 
It's a great week to be a hero in New York City!


Passers-by catch tumbling toddler


NEW YORK (AP) -- Two passers-by rescued a toddler who fell four stories, scrambling to catch him as he tumbled from a fire escape, police said.

Julio Gonzalez, 43, and Pedro Nevarez, 40, saw 3-year-old Timothy Addo dangling from a Bronx building on Thursday, police said. The boy had crawled out of a window when his baby sitter briefly took her eyes off of him, police said.

"He was hanging on for dear life," Gonzalez said.

Hearing people in the building scream for help as the boy's grip weakened, the men rushed over to position themselves under the fire escape to catch him. (Watch man describe his life-saving catch)

"No one came," Nevarez said. "We knew it was up to us."

The boy tumbled and hit Nevarez in the chest so hard he knocked him off balance, but he bounced into Gonzalez' arms.

Timothy was treated at the hospital for a cut on his forehead.

"He's fine. He's happy. He's smiling," said his mother, 26-year-old Katrina Cosme, who was working at the time of the accident.

Police talked to the baby sitter, and an investigation was continuing Friday, Detective John Sweeney said.

The crucial catch came two days after a bystander threw himself onto a Manhattan subway track to save a man who had fallen, and a day after three police officers delivered a baby on a Brooklyn subway platform.

"This is the week of heroes in New York," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.
 
MrsSpringsteen said:
David Letterman wants him on his show, I think he's on tonight.[/IMG]

That's what I would hate after doing something like this.

You just wanted to save somebody, and after that you don't get a brake from reporters and others asking you to come to their show, give an interview or do something else.

From what I've seen here in the Berlin subway, you couldn't do something like this at most parts of the tracks.
There is just no space.
 
Last edited:
NYC subway savior showered with gifts By VERENA DOBNIK, Associated Press Writer
Thu Jan 4, 7:28 PM ET



NEW YORK - A man's daring rescue of a teen who fell on the subway tracks earned him the unique title "the hero of Harlem" on Thursday, plus $10,000 from Donald Trump and a trip to Disney World.

ADVERTISEMENT

Mayor Michael Bloomberg bestowed the title upon Wesley Autrey as he presented him with the city's highest award for civic achievement, calling the 50-year-old construction worker "a great man — a man who makes us all proud to be New Yorkers."

Past recipients of the Bronze Medallion have included Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Martin Luther King Jr., Muhammad Ali and Willie Mays. The last honoree was Housing Authority employee Felix Vasquez, who caught a baby thrown from a burning building in 2005.

On Tuesday, Autrey saw Cameron Hollopeter, a 19-year-old film student, suffering a seizure while waiting for a train. After stumbling down the platform, Hollopeter, of Littleton, Mass., fell onto the tracks with a train on its way into the station.

Autrey, traveling with his two young daughters, said something needed to be done and he thought: "I'm the only one to do it."

He jumped down to the tracks, a few feet below platform level, and rolled with the young man into a drainage trough between the rails as the southbound No. 1 train came into the 137th Street/City College station.

Some train cars passed over Autrey and Hollopeter with only a couple of inches to spare, but neither man suffered any harm from the incident. Hollopeter, hospitalized for his medical condition, was in stable condition Thursday.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority Executive Director Elliot Sander called Autrey's action "a death-defying act of bravery. We truly have not seen anything like this. ... He was at the right place at the right time and did the right thing."

After the City Hall ceremony, a limousine whisked Autrey — who also received a year's worth of free subway rides — to a meeting with Trump, who presented him with $10,000.

He also has received $2,500 from the New York Film Academy to start a scholarship fund for his children, and tickets and a backstage tour to the Broadway musical "The Lion King."

Autrey, who did the morning news show circuit on Thursday and taped a David Letterman appearance later in the day, will be flown to Los Angeles for an appearance next week on Ellen DeGeneres' show.

As for his new celebrity, he concluded, "good things happen when you do good."
 
Back
Top Bottom