A wheelchair user was trying to make it across six lanes of traffic in Jonesboro, Arkansas, when help arrived in a way few drivers at the intersection could have expected: from a Spider-Man lookalike who sprang out of a red Jeep stopped at the light.
Christopher Hellenthal, still dressed in his Spider-Man costume after a superhero-themed event at the trampoline park where he works, noticed the man in the roadway Tuesday and rushed over to assist, telling him, “I got you.”
Within moments, Hellenthal pushed the wheelchair safely across the crosswalk, getting the man out of harm’s way just seconds before the signal changed and traffic began moving again.
A street security camera in Jonesboro recorded the quick rescue, and local police later posted the footage on social media, thanking Hellenthal for stepping in to help the man reach safety.
“I had a bunch of adrenaline pumping through me,” Hellenthal, 20, told The Associated Press, explaining that the busy midday traffic left little time to hesitate.
He also admitted the unusual timing crossed his mind: “I was just kind of thinking, ‘I’m wearing this suit; it’s gonna be pretty funny.’”
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Once the man was across the local route, Hellenthal sprinted back to his Jeep, which had been holding up traffic, “because the light turned green pretty fast.”
The clip quickly took off after the Jonesboro Police Department shared it on Facebook, drawing tens of thousands of likes and turning the costumed act of kindness into a local viral moment.
One person commented about a missed opportunity to strike a “spidey pose.”
“Not in my 7 years in the department have I witnessed this,” said Sally Smith, a department spokesperson, referring to the video. Police did not identify the individual using the wheelchair by name.
Hellenthal, who lives in Lake City, east of Jonesboro, said he’s always been a Spider-Man fan.
He said he even had the opportunity to meet the late Stan Lee, who revolutionized the comic book and helped make billions for Hollywood by introducing human frailties into Marvel superheroes such as Spider-Man.
Packy Magel, a manager at Ultimate Air Trampoline Park who works with Hellenthal, said he recognized Hellenthal from the video despite his superhero getup.
It’s “very much like him to do something like that and very much like him to be still in costume,” Magel said.
