Man who rescued child on Hersheypark monorail track says 'Dad instincts kicked in'
Man who rescued child on Hersheypark monorail track says 'Dad instincts kicked in'
John Sampson sprung into action when he and other Hersheypark guests noticed a child standing on the park's elevated monorail track over Labor Day weekend.
HERSHEY, Pa. - A Bucks County man sprung into action when he and other Hersheypark guests noticed a child walking on the park's elevated monorail track over Labor Day weekend.
What we know:
A near-perfect late summer evening at Hersheypark quickly turned to panic when guest noticed a young boy walking on the park's elevated monorail track.
Park officials said the child was reported missing by his parents around 5 p.m., and at some point he had wandered into the station for the closed monorail.
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Child spotted walking on Monorail at Hersheypark rescued by Bucks County guest
Terrifying moments at Hersey Park this weekend when a young boy was seen walking along the tracks of an elevated monorail.
He began walking down the monorail track around 5:30 p.m., which got the attention of Hersheypark guests who called for help to rescue the visibly frightened child.
John Sampson, a Bucks County resident, was among the crowd of terrified parkgoers. He climbed onto the roof of a nearby snack stand, then onto the tracks to save the child.
What they're saying:
Sampson told FOX News that his "Dad instincts kicked in" when he noticed the stranded child.
"Absolute relief, and even I could feel it in him, the relief," Sampson recalled after reaching the child. "Thank goodness he came straight into my arms."
His heroic actions were filmed by onlookers, garnering Sampson many thanks and praise, epecially from the boy's parents.
"[The parents] reached out to me this morning, so we were able to talk, obviously a lot of ‘thanks’ and everything," Sampson said. "I'm so happy to hear that he's back with his family, which is the biggest, biggest thing out of all of this."