Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
NYC Loves Subway Hero Wesley Autrey
By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 4, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 4, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Two days after Wesley Autey jumped into subway tracks to save another straphanger from an oncoming train, everyone still wants to hear his story. With good reason: Not only is it an incredibly heroic story, Autrey's matter-of-fact explanation for his actions ("it's just being able to be here and help the next person.") and his humble demeanor:
"I don't think I did anything heroic. I just saved a life. I don't call myself a hero because the real heroes are overseas dying for you and me."
Autrey was on CBS's Early Show, which had a crazy computer re-creation of the save. And the re-creation doesn't even show how the savee, NY Film Academy freshman Cameron Hollopeter, was having a seizure at the time!
Autrey will be appearing on Late Night with David Letterman tonight and will be honored by Mayor Bloomberg today, and he's also gotten requests to appear on The Charlie Rose Show and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Apparently Donald Trump's people say there's a $10,000 check waiting for him (Autrey said, “They offered to mail it; I said, ‘No, I’d like to meet the Donald, so I can say, Yo, you’re fired.’ ”) while the Film Academy gave Autrey a $5,000 check and offered future scholarships to his two young daughters to attend its teen program.
But we have a feeling the best thanks Autrey is getting is from Hollopeter's family. Autrey went to Hollopeter's hospital room and met his family. Hollopeter's father Larry said
"Mr. Autrey's instinctive and unselfish act saved our son's life/ There are no words to properly express our gratitude and feelings for his actions. Cameron is recovering and stable. Now he needs his rest, and our wishes are that you respect his privacy. May God’s blessings be with Mr. Autrey and his family."
Autrey has been working on converting classrooms into a library at PS 380, John Wayne School, in Brooklyn. The Daily News' Michael Daly said that the school was named after the actor (a District 14 superintendent was a "big fan") but the school should be renamed after Autrey instead.
Update: The MTA is giving Autrey a year of free rides (12 unlimited monthly Metrocards) and gave his daughter some MTA schwag. Disney is giving the Autrey family a week-long, all-expenses paid trip to Disney World, plus tickets to see the Lion King and a backstage tour. At the City Hall press conference, Autrey said again that he wasn't a hero and said the real heroes are the young men and women fighting in Iraq.
Photograph of Autrey and his two daughters from the CBS Early Show; graphic of the subway trough from the NY Times
Tagged
amazing
bloomberg
brooklyn
cbs
cbs early show
Charlie Rose
city
City hall
daily news
Daly
david
david letterman
disney
disney world
District
donald trump
Early Show
ellen degeneres
Ellen DeGeneres Show
film
hospital
iraq
John Wayne
late night
letterman
library
lion king
mayor
mayor bloomberg
michael daly
MTA
news
night
ny times
people
rose
subway
the daily news
The MTA
track rescue
train
transportation
trump
wesley autrey
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. ET
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
News
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
NYC nor’easter dries up after weather service reports minor flooding
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .