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A man who bravely saved a young boy from danger near the Hersheypark monorail track has shared the story of how he quickly acted to protect the child.
The boy was seen walking alone on the track of the elevated ride at the Pennsylvania theme park Saturday after he became separated from his parents.
He entered the secured area for the monorail ride and wandered onto the track, which is an estimated 20 feet off the ground.
John Sampson explained that his parental instincts took over when he noticed the boy dangerously close to the track’s edge, as adults around him screamed and tried to guide the boy to safety.
The boy, apparently overwhelmed by the shouting voices, placed his hands over his ears as he started to walk back and forth.
That’s when Sampson climbed on the roof of a food stand, jumped onto the tracks, grabbed the boy and carried him down to safety.
Sampson, who is both a father and a veterinarian in rural Pennsylvania, recounted to WPMT how he quickly thought through the situation to reach the boy as swiftly as he could.
He described feeling a profound sense of relief upon holding the child, noting that the boy seemed to feel secure and relieved in his arms.
John Sampson says his ‘dad instincts kicked in’ the moment he saw the young boy teetering along the edge of the monorail
Sampson said he could tell the little boy felt ‘relief as soon as he got into my arms’
Sampson, a veterinarian based in rural Pennsylvania and father himself, says he felt ‘absolute relief’ the moment he embraced the little boy
‘Thank goodness he came straight into my arms, and it went nice and simply in that sense,’ Sampson added.
The boy’s parents reached out to Sampson the next day and thanked him for saving their son, who was luckily uninjured in the incident.
Expressing his joy over the boy’s safe return to his family, Sampson emphasized that this was the most important outcome of the entire incident.
According to amusement park officials, the child was reported missing at around 5 p.m. on Saturday and was back with his family approximately 20 minutes later, as reported to the Daily Mail.
‘The ride was closed and safeguarded by a chained closure at the entrance and barricaded turnstile at the platform,’ a spokesperson said.
‘The child remained at the closed station for about 20 minutes before briefly walking along the track. A guest quickly noticed and helped guide the child to safety.’
The spokesperson added officials are ‘grateful for the vigilance of our guests and the swift response of our team, and we remain committed to maintaining the highest levels of guest safety throughout Hersheypark’.
Officials are also continuing their investigation into how the child managed to access the closed monorail.
Sampson climbed on the roof of a food stand, jumped onto the tracks, grabbed the boy and then carried the boy down to safety
Social media users were quick to praise Sampson (pictured) for his heroic rescue
Social media users were quick to praise Sampson for his heroic rescue and emphasized the importance of doing whatever it takes to keep track of your kids.
‘Some heroes… don’t wear capes,’ one person said. ‘I bet that guy is a dad cause he didn’t think twice and worked fast,’ added another.
‘Kudos to the two men who climbed up and rescued him. They did not hesitate and reacted quick! Glad he’s safe,’ said a third person.
‘And this is one of the reasons idgf (excuse my French) when people make remarks about my 3 year old with a roped backpack,’ a fourth person said.
The shocking incident comes just over a month after a nine-year-old girl died in a busy area of Hersheypark’s wave pool.
Sophia Subedi, 9, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was pulled from the water unresponsive on July 24 and could not be revived.
Despite false rumors the child suffered a medical emergency that led to her death, the Dauphin County Coroner’s Office determined the incident was accidental.
‘The decedent did not have a medical event that caused the drowning,’ Deputy Chief Clerk with the Dauphin County Commissioners Vincent Paese told WGAL on Monday.
Sampson, pictured with his own family, says he is ‘so happy’ the youngster is safely back with his loved ones, which he highlighted as the ‘biggest thing out of all of this’
The close call on the monorail comes a month after a nine-year-old girl died in a busy area of Hersheypark’s wave pool
Witnesses recalled that the popular attraction was filled with guests when Sophia died, and the park said more than 100 lifeguards were on duty in the Boardwalk area, with 10 ‘specifically dedicated to the wave pool.’
Sophia was ‘in distress’ in the wave pool before she died, and onlookers said she was ‘limp’ while being pulled from the water during the sweltering 92-degree evening.
After park staff performed life-saving measures, the young girl was taken to Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
The 378,000-gallon pool, officially named ‘The Shore,’ has zero depth entry, meaning it gets deeper the further someone goes in. It has a maximum depth of six feet.
It is unclear what part of the pool Sophia was swimming in when she drowned.
Hersheypark, along with the Derry Township Police Department and the Dauphin County Coroner’s Office, are investigating what led up to her untimely death.
