A Rescuer down under

As most have already heard, earlier this week, a man suffered a seizure and collapsed onto the subway tracks. He was rescued by a complete stranger who jumped down onto the tracks and got the two of them between the rails and into a shallow ditch that allowed the arriving train to pass over them.

Both men survived the experience. The reporting on this has been far and wide, but the one I thought worth linking to raised the question that's been in the back of my head since I heard about this story: would I have done the same?

Mr Autrey has repeatedly said that what he did is what he would expect anyone to do:

Mr. Autrey refused medical help, because, he said, nothing was wrong. He did visit Mr. Hollopeter in the hospital before heading to his night shift. “I don’t feel like I did something spectacular; I just saw someone who needed help,” Mr. Autrey said. “I did what I felt was right.”

I hope never to find out if I have his strength. If I do have to find out, I pray that somewhere in me I still have the kind of compassion for others that it would take to make that leap.