NATIONAL REPORT

New York Subway Rescuer Wesley AutreyGets Hero's Welcome Across The U.S.

Wesley Autrey is still amazed thatAmerica is amazed at him. And he

hates being called a hero.

The way he figures it, he just did 'theright thing.' That right thing was jumpinjifrom a Harlem subway platform onto thi>tracks and covering an epilepsy victimwhile train cars roared over them.

The modesty of the 50-year-old con-struction worker has deeply touchedAniericans from coast-to-coast.

He was honored by New York MayorMichael Bloomberg, given a $10,000scholarship for his two daughters by Don-ald Trump and received donations andaccolades from around the country.

New York Transit officials gave himfree rides for a year and soon he's takinghis daughters to DisneyWorld for a week.

He's even appeared on "The LateShow With David Letterman" and "TheEllen DeOeneres Show."

Autrey told JKT that Cameron Hol-lopeter, the 2()-year-atd epilepsy victim,actually had two seizures at the station.

"I'm a single father and I was takingmy two daughters (Shuqui, 6 and Syshe, 4.He also has a son, Wesley Jr., ÍÍ2) to lowerManhattan to their mother and I see thisguy fall on his back like a tree fell on him. Hestalled kicking his iu'ms and legs."

Autrey said there were at least 80 peo-ple at the station but only he and two

• Wesley Autrey hugs his daughters ShuquiAutrey, 6, (I) and Syshe, 4. during an interviewwith JET in Universal City, CA.

T Cameron Hollopeter lies in bed at St. Luke'sHospital in New York after his subway rescue.

wuiucn-une Laiina and the other whoappeared to be Asian-helped him.

"He was gagging like he was choking,"Autrey recalled. "So, ! propped himagainst my knee. I asked someone for apen and put that in his mouth so hewouldn't chew his tongue."

Moments later, he said Hollopeter, afilm student, was on his feet and moving onthe platform. However, he appeared to

^ Autry has been on awhirlwind recounting thelife-saving events. He isapplauded by DavidLetterman on "The LateShow with David Letterman"in New York.

< Autrey speaks to reporters during a press con-ference at City Hall in New York City where he washonored by (l-r) Mayor Bloomberg, PoliceCommissioner Raymond Kelly and FireCommissioner Nicholas Scoppetta. Autrey and hisdaughters were also given a free trip to DisneyWorld.

have another seizure, Autrey said. Andbegan wobbling around, hitting a metal pil-lar and falling backwards onto the tracks.

"Ajid the train was coming!" Autrey said,getting on the floor of a Hollywood hoteldemonstrating how he covered the victim.

"By then, another train had left and allthe men were on it. There was no one leftat the station but him, my daughters andme and those two ladies. I looked aroundand saw that there wasn't anyone; I sig-naled to the two ladies to hold my daugh-ters. The man was laying between the twotr-acks in a small drainage area."

He tried pulling Hollopeter but .said thestudent was flailing and too heavy for himto lift quickly enough.

"I looked up and saw these two lightsgetting closer. I said to myself: 'Wes, youain't going to make it with his weight. If youget him to the platform, the train's goingto get you. 'I looked back down at the gut-

NATIONAL REPORT

^ Autrey._ lies on the

' " ^ floor at theUniversalSheratonHotel as hedemon-strates howhe protectedHollopeterfrom theoncomingtrains.

ter space and knew if I could get him inthere I could lay on top of him and keep him.still we might make it."

And they did-by a mere inch and a half.Autrey said the only time he really was fear-ful was when he felt the train gi-aze the knitPlayboy cap he wore as it went over them.

He said it happened too fast for him toimmediately analyze the danger element.He had been in the U.S. Navy and knewabout CPR. Also his local union has month-ly ¡Irst-aide classes. On top ofthat, he saidIiis job has him occasionally going intosmall, confined spaces.

"I calculated how much space we hadreally quick and then I just wrapped my l^sai'ound his and gave him a big bear hug so hewouldn't twitch. 1 had to keep telling him,'Sir, please don't move. You had a seizure andI came to your aide. If you push me up, thetrain's going to get me but you'll be okay.'"

After between three and five cars

passed over them, he heard it come to ascreeching halt as the conductor had seenhim on the tracks.

Autrey said he yelled out for everyoneto be quiet so the two ladies who wereholding his daughters could hear himannounce that he was okay and for themto let his kids know.

The danger still wasn't over as transitofficials had to make sure Autrey and Hol-lopeter stayed still until power was com-pletely turned of!. That, he said, took anoth-er 20 minutes.

"They told me to keep pinning himdown so he wouldn't touch something thatwas connected to the third rail and we'dboth end up toast."

Autrey emerged filthy with oil, mud andcity debris. He also emerged a national hero.

To his surprise, hordes of photogra-phers and reporters were all around theambulances that had been called. He wentto the hospital to see that Holiopeter wasokay and, in spite of all that happened soquickly, still went to work.

Hoilopeter's father, Larry, told reportersin front ofthe hospital; "Mr. Autrey's instinc-tive and unselfish act...There are no wordsto properly express our gratitude and feel-ings for his action." The two families plan ongettir^ together once things settle down andHollopeter recuperates.

"I wasn't expecting any of this," Autreysaid, shaking his head. "I'm from the Southand I did it out of kindness. People fromthe South are a little more caring and kind-hearted."

Continued on page 60

m

SPORTSyear-old daughter, Jaelyn. Union chiefGene Upshaw said the NFL players asso-ciation had set up a scholarship fund forWiliiams' children.

Broncos owner Pat Bowlen, one of thespeakers at the funeral, said bringing

Williams' killers to justice was his "No. 1goal right now."

After the funeral, Williams' gold coffinwas carried away to the cemetei7 in ahorse-di*awn carriage with his No. 27 Bron-cos jersey draped across the back. •

NATIONAL REPORTContinued from page 7

As far as heroes, he said the heroes arethe young men and women semng over-seas "fighting for our freedom so that peo-ple like me can make the right choice anddo the right thing."

He likely would never have jumped ontothe tracks had those two women not beenthere to hold his daughters back, he said.

"God works in mysterious ways! Myfour-year-old is a daddy's girl and shewould have come right behind me. Thelady told me she had to hold her in a bearhug. No, if they hadn't been there I would-n't have been able to save that young man."

The full magnitude of what he has donebecame clear, he said, when he got to L.A.to do the "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" andhe got the chance to see an idol of his, B.B.King, backstage.

He's on leave from Local 79 for the timebeing and is set to do "Oprah" and "TheMontel Williams Show." He's been askedto speak to groups around the countryand address epilepsy audiences. He saidthere's also been talk about a book and

A Autrey holds up the soiled knit cap he woreduring his heroic act. He said the oniy time he wasfearful was when he feit the train graze the cap.

possibly a movie.After so much negative publicity with

race relations in New York, Autrey said hethinks it's important for everyone to notethat he's Black, the women Asian and His-panic and Hollopeter was White.

"We're all Americans and we're ;ülhuman beings who Uve in New York," he said.

-Aldore D. Collier

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