Anthony Perry didn’t think twice.
He was 20 years old and standing on the platform at the 69th Street station in Chicago when he saw a man fall onto the train’s third rail, which carries enough electricity to kill. It all started as a fight between two strangers. It ended with one of them unconscious on the metal and Anthony jumping onto the tracks without calculating the risk.
The shock ran through his entire body when he touched him. Even so, with the help of another person on the platform, he managed to drag him off the tracks and performed CPR on him until firefighters arrived. The man, about 32 years old, survived. A witness named Tavi Ghee recorded everything, and the video went viral within hours.
Three days later, philanthropist Early Walker played a prank on him with a gas card, knowing that Anthony didn’t even have a car. The prank turned into something real: a gift Audi, delivered in front of his home in Greater Grand Crossing, with neighbors and police officers as witnesses. ‘We need more Anthonys in the world,’ Walker said.