Man Jumped onto Railroad Tracks to Save a Stranger

Twenty-year-old Cameron Hollopeter was waiting for a subway train in New York City when he had a seizure and began convulsing. As he tried to stand up, he tumbled forward onto the tracks just as the train rounded the corner and sped towards him.

Fifty-year-old construction worker and Navy veteran Wesley Autrey had been chatting with his two daughters when he saw the man fall. He made a split second decision that could have ended his life in an instant; he jumped onto the tracks to help Hollopeter. Autrey covered Hollopeter with his body and pushed him down between the train tracks. The train operator threw the alarm and tried to stop, but it was too late, and the train rolled over both men.

Five train cars rolled over the pair, mere inches from Autrey’s head. When the train finally stopped, he called out to the screaming onlookers that they were okay. Later, heralded as a hero, Autrey said, “I don’t feel like I did something spectacular; I just saw someone who needed help. I did what I felt was right.”