A Chicago man named Anthony Perry is being recognized for saving the life of a man who fell on the subway’s electrified rail.
During a ceremony honoring his heroic efforts, a philanthropist and businessman gifted him a 2008 Audi A6!
Anthony, 20, risked his own life by saving the man, but he wasn’t thinking of himself at the time. Instead, his focus was on getting him off the tracks.
“I don’t think I was thinking about what could happen to me at the moment,” he recalled. “It was more of what do I have to do to make the situation peaceful. I felt a little shock. I felt it all over my body actually, and then I just didn’t let that stop me.”
The incident occurred one Sunday afternoon at the 69th Street Red Line CTA Station in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood in Chicago.
According to authorities, the 32-year-old man fell onto the rails after getting into an altercation with another commuter.
In a video captured by Tavi Ghee, the man’s body can be seen pulsating as the electricity courses through his bent-over body. According to witnesses, he walked up to the other passenger and started the fight by spitting on him.
The two men fought and ended up rolling on the tracks, exchanging blows until the man in the white shirt was trapped on the third rail.
The other commuter, wearing a black hooded jacket, fled the scene and ran out of the station. Investigators are currently working to identify him.
Upon seeing the man being electrocuted, Anthony quickly jumped on the tracks to rescue him. He jumps back slightly when he touches the man’s body to pull him away from the rail.
“It was definitely surreal,” said the person who filmed the scene. “That was an out-of-body experience.”
With the help of a female witness, the Good Samaritan administered chest compressions to the man.
“She was talking me through on what to do,” he said. “I feel like that was an angel from God. I ended up doing chest compressions and turning him on his side until the fire department got there.”
He said he had just stepped out of a train when he saw the fight.
“I immediately noticed there was a fight because both guys got their dukes up – they were like putting their stuff down,” Anthony said.
“I could’ve kept walking, but I was like, you know what? I’m not going to keep walking – because God wouldn’t want me to do that, so I took action immediately,” he continued.
The electrocuted man was treated at the University of Chicago Hospital and is expected to live.
“I was thinking about, if that was me in that situation, how would I want people to treat me?” Anthony said. “I’m just happy that the guy was alive, more than anything. I didn’t see myself as a hero, to be honest.”
Anthony usually commutes around 90 minutes to his job at an Amazon Fresh in Oak Lawn, taking two buses and a train. During the ceremony honoring him, Early Walker presented him with his new car.
“We need more Anthonys in the world. We need more people like this,” Early said.
Anthony was shocked upon seeing what he was being rewarded with.
“Good does win. Good always wins,” he told the media after receiving his surprise gift.
According to the CTA, if you see a person on the tracks, you must notify a CTA employee, who will, in turn, notify the control center that will turn off power to the third rail.
In a statement, they said that individuals “should never try to enter the right of way, or try to remove the person themselves, as they risk electrocution.”
Click on the video below to see Anthony’s reaction to the surprise.
***Did you enjoy our feel-good and positive story? You can help support our site by simply SUBSCRIBING and sharing our stories with your friends and family.