On Tuesday, January 2, 2007, at noon, Wesley Autrey was waiting for a subway train with his two young daughters, when his life changed forever.  Autrey is a construction worker who was accompaniying his daughters to meet their mother while he headed off to work for the night.  However, something caught his attention about one of the other commuters waiting on the platform.  Suddenly, the man collapsed and began to shake violently.

As the man, identified as 20 year-old Cameron Hellopter, a New York Film Institute student from Littleton, MA, convulsed on the platform, Autrey ran to get help.  With help alerted, Autrey returned and quickly borrowed a pen from another witness and forced it into Hellopter’s mouth to prevent him from choking.  Hellopter appeared to recover from his seizure and even began to stand, holding on to one of the station’s pillars when he collapsed again.  This time, Hellopter fell backward off the platform where he landed in the gutter between the tracks.

While Hellopter’s arms and legs continued to spasm, a train could be seen approaching the station.  Autrey knew he had to act quickly, so he jumped down onto the tracks and attempted to pull Hellopter from the pit.  However, the young man’s size and the continued seizures made it difficult for Autrey.  “The train is getting closer.  I tried again.  The driver was honking the horn for us to get out of the way, but it was coming so fast.” Autrey says of the harrowing experience.  Seeing the futility in continuing to pull Hellopter from the pit, Autrey had to make a difficult decision.  At least it would be a difficult decision for most people, but Autrey says, “I think that’s in the gut.  You have to decide in that split second.”

Autrey climbed into the pit on top of Hellopter, shielding him with his body.  He wrapped his arms and legs around Hellopter’s to prevent the spasms from shaking them onto the tracks.  The pit itself is only a foot deep, so the two men squeezed together as the train plowed into the station with the conductor hopelessly engaging the brakes.  As the train passed over them, a piece grazed Autrey’s hat before managing to stop.  In all, two train cars had passed over the two men.

The panicked crowd watched in horror and Autrey’s girls sobbed, but then there was a shout.  Autrey yelled from below for someone to let his girls know he was fine.  “I’m their father. Let them know their father’s OK, and let everyone know that man is OK.” Both men escaped virtually unscathed with only a few bumps and bruises.  Hellopter has fully recovered from his seizure after being taken to St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center.

Wesley Autrey saved Cameron Hellopter’s life without a moment’s hesitation and did so at great peril to himself.  I’m sure he may have preferred to do so without the fright his daughter’s received, but the result was that they will have a memory of their father as a great hero for their lives.  It will be a story to tell their children and their children’s children.  How great a gift is that?

"I don’t feel like I did something spectacular. I just saw someone who needed help.”
Wesley Autrey