It was the terrifying moment in Pennsylvania that everyone was talking about over the weekend. On Saturday, August 30, hundreds of families were enjoying the popular Hersheypark theme park. Suddenly, they looked up to see a horrific sight. A young boy was walking by himself across the monorail.
The monorail was not operating at the time and had been closed off and barricaded for safety. Somehow, however, the boy managed to get past the chained-off area and onto the track, putting himself into a very dangerous situation.
Cellphone video captured onlookers' reactions as many screamed while others tried to urge the boy to walk back towards safety. However, one man, a father of three named John Sampson, decided to take matters into his own hands.
Now he’s recalling the harrowing incident.
"Everybody's like, 'Oh my God, there's — there's a kid up there, there's a kid up there!'" he said.
He didn’t think twice before jumping into action.
"A kid is walking on the monorail, and obviously, panic kind of sets in a little bit," Sampson said. “When you have that, like, kind of dad instinct, it doesn't matter if it's your kid or not, it's a child that you want to make sure they're safe as possible."
Despite admittedly being afraid of heights, Sampson quickly determined that the best way he could reach the boy was by climbing onto the roof of a nearby concession stand. From there, he was able to make his way onto the track and towards the boy who ultimately walked toward him to safety.
"So, when I finally got him in my arms, honestly, there was no words," he said. "I was just mumbling, 'I'm so happy,' you know, 'I got you. You're OK, you're OK.'"
A man standing nearby was able to help Sampson as he climbed back down to the ground.
Sampson said that he would later receive a call from the boy’s parents, who thanked him for rescuing their son. It’s still not clear how exactly the child made it onto the track.
