A Chicago resident didn’t know riding the local train would unexpectedly turn him into a hero and change the trajectory of his professional career.
According to Reader’s Digest, it was a typical day for Anthony Perry, who hopped off the train at Chicago’s 69th Street station in June 2022. Since Perry was interested in purchasing a car, he was on his way to meet his grandfather, who had agreed to accompany him to view one he had been eyeing.
Out of the blue, a physical altercation erupted between two men at the station, which led to the two falling onto the train tracks. Although one of the men landed on his back, they continued to tussle until he began to shake uncontrollably. This caused the other guy involved to hop off him and jump back to the waiting area above ground.
The man who was still on the tracks fell on the third rail, the conduit for the 600 volts of electricity the Chicago’s L trains need to run day in and day out. Perry and other witnesses grew terrified as they watched the man’s head continuously bounce on the rail due to the electrical shocks running through his body. It looked like the unnamed man lost his life. However, Perry refused to let him lie on the tracks. That’s when the 20-year-old decided to take it upon himself to help the man.
He slowly descended on the train tracks and took big steps since he assumed all of the rails were powered up and could electrocute him as well. He was initially shocked the first two times he grabbed the victim’s hand to get him off the rail. Pushing through the strong electrical currents, he successfully managed to pick the man up and carefully place him by the concrete barricade.
The man was still alive but not coherent. An onlooker dressed in scrubs instructed him to “give him chest compressions,” Reader’s Digest reported, which the young man immediately did until the man’s body started twitching again.
Once the paramedics and firefighters arrived, he moved out of the way so they could do their job, and he went on with his plans for the afternoon. Unfortunately, by the time Perry and his grandfather made it to see the car, someone else had bought it. The incident made the local evening news and noted a mysterious man saved the day. After one of his friends leaked his name to the media, a local philanthropist honored his quick actions with a car. In addition, the Chicago Fire Department reached out to him to join their team, and he is currently training to become an EMT.
The hometown hero credits his belief in God as the reason he wasn’t scared to lend a helping hand.
“The word I’ll use is faith,” he said, according to Reader’s Digest. “Faith over fear.”