A 66-year-old former New York City construction worker and Navy veteran who vaulted to international acclaim in 2007 for saving a film student's life after he fell onto subway tracks in Manhattan following a seizure got an unexpected -- and no doubt, very welcome -- pre-holiday surprise Thursday almost 15 years to the day of his heroic act.
The Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol, famous for surprising sweepstakes winners at their homes, work or other locations with huge checks and more, announced Wesley Autrey as its latest random prizewinner, shocking him with roses, balloons, champagne and a new Ford Bronco (or its cash value -- $52,820).
"This is a dream come true!" Autrey exclaimed after learning he won the prize.
Autrey, who PCH said retired just three months ago but still works part-time, ended up taking the cash option in order to help his daughters and mother.
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The group sent Howie to Autrey's Harlem home, which isn't far from the transit hub where his selflessness made him a global household name and a local legend.
As the lore goes, Autrey was waiting for a train at 137th Street around lunchtime on Jan. 2, 2007, with his two young daughters when he spotted another subway rider, Cameron Hollopeter, having a seizure on the platform. He and two other bystanders raced to help the then-20-year-old film student. Hollopeter ended up stumbling off the platform.
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He fell right onto the tracks -- and a train was approaching.
Autrey jumped onto the tracks and, realizing there wasn't enough time to pull the New York Film Academy student off before the train hit them both, he put himself over Hollopeter, who was in a trench between the tracks and held him down. Five cars rolled over both of them before the train stopped. People were screaming.
"We're OK down here," Autrey yelled, according to The New York Times. "But I've got two daughters up there. Let them know their father's OK."
That was met with resounding applause -- and total awe.
Hollopeter suffered some bumps and bruises, but that was about it. Autrey declined medical attention at the scene. Then, the Times reports, he got his girls home and went to visit Hollopeter in the hospital before starting his night shift.
"I don't feel like I did something spectacular," Autrey told the paper the next day. "I just saw someone who needed help. I did what I felt was right."
The Navy vet's inspirational and humble story got out -- widely -- and he was flooded with scholarship money for his girls as well as cash, among other gifts, and earned a moniker that has followed him since: "Hero of Harlem."
Events tickets, backstage Beyonce passes, Nets (then in New Jersey) games, a new Jeep and a trip to Walt Disney World Resort followed. Autrey also earned a bronze medallion, New York City's highest award for exceptional citizenship and outstanding achievement, from former Mayor Michael Bloomberg two days after the heroic venture.
Former President George W. Bush honored him and his daughters as guests at the State of the Union that year, too.
