Wesley Autrey is a New York City construction worker and Navy veteran who gained international attention in 2007 by preventing a New York City subway train from hitting Cameron Hollopeter, a film student who had experienced a seizure and fallen into the tracks.
He is on Time magazine's 2007 list of the world's 100 most important people; the paragraph about him was written by Donald Trump.
| Born | February 6, 1956 |
|---|---|
| Other names | Subway Samaritan, Subway Superman, The Hero of Harlem, Subway Hero |
| Occupation | New York City construction worker/Navy veteran |
Subway incident
Autrey was waiting for a train with his two young girls at the 137th Street – City College subway station in Manhattan on January 2, 2007.
He and two ladies witnessed a young guy, Cameron Hollopeter, suffering a seizure at 12:45 p.m. Autrey took a pen from Hollopeter and used it to hold his jaw open.
Hollopeter slipped off the platform after the seizure, landing on the tracks.
Autrey noticed the lights of an approaching train as Hollopeter lay on the rails.
Autrey leapt onto the tracks while one of the ladies held Autrey's kids back from the edge of the platform.
He believed he could get Hollopeter off the rails, but he realized he didn't have enough time to drag Hollopeter away.
Instead, he shielded Hollopeter by hurling himself over his body in a drainage hole between the tracks and holding him down.
Despite the fact that the train's operator engaged the brakes, all but two cars went over them, near enough to leave oil on his cap.
Last Updated on 3 years by pinc