Good idea for a story

When the 15 minutes are up, some Good Samaritans struggle
By VERENA DOBNIK
Associated Press Writer
January 6, 2007, 9:37 PM EST
NEW YORK -- Daniel Santos became an instant hero in 1996 after he jumped 130 feet off a bridge into the Hudson River to rescue a young woman trying to commit suicide. Then came the national TV interviews, the fan mail from complete strangers, the offers to do commercials, the free trips to Disney World.

Then came the nightmares resulting from his near-death plunge. He returned to work after the Disney World trip only to get harassed about his absence, and quit. He lost his health insurance, the money ran out, and he started drinking heavily.

"My life unraveled. The publicity changed my life. I didn't want it to," said Santos, who still occasionally hears the words "the bridge jumper" from strangers on the street. "I had my 15 minutes of fame and I was yesterday's news. I didn't care, but it took me four or five years to get my life back."

Santos recalled his saga Friday as America this week crowned a new hero _ the man who dove in front of a Manhattan subway train to save a teenager, one of the most amazing acts of bravery in recent New York memory. Since then, fame has accompanied Wesley Autrey everywhere he has gone. The 50-year-old construction worker won accolades like "the hero of Harlem" and "Subway Superman" while appearing on David Letterman and earning money and gifts, including a trip to Disney World. Mayor Michael Bloomberg bestowed him with the city's highest civic award _ the Bronze Medallion, whose past recipients included Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

But, as Santos can attest, there are dangers in becoming an overnight hero in a media-saturated society. "They go one of two ways: They either recognize that their act was a moment in time they can enjoy temporarily, and the rest of their life is a consequence of everyday routine _ or they get stuck in their deed or action, feel entitled and lose perspective. That's the danger," said Alan Hilfer, chief psychologist at Brooklyn's Maimonides Medical Center.

Joseph Dunwald was only 17 when he did about the same thing as Autrey. He leaped off a Manhattan subway platform to rescue a man who had fainted and fallen onto the tracks. "Been there, done that," said Dunwald, now 81, while watching Autrey on TV. Dunwald, a retired New York firefighter who lives in Lake Mary, Fla., said the moment and the public attention "changed my persona. It was a new level of responsibility, a prep course for what was about to happen _ ducking German submarines in World War II."

It was, he said, "a great preparation for life" _ a happy, healthy life far from the spotlight. For his efforts, Dunwald also got a gold Bulova watch as a reward, and "baby, did I ever get lots of dates."

Another overnight hero who succeeded amid the glow of heroism is Felix Vazquez, a New York City housing employee who caught an infant thrown from a burning Bronx apartment in December 2005. "I just went back to work like nothing happened. But people kept calling," said Vazquez, who also received the Bronze Medallion from the mayor. At the time, he was in the middle of a divorce and under stress, "and I became a better person. People started noticing me, and saying hi _ appreciating me," said the 40-year-old father of three, speaking from the stairwell of a Bronx housing development where he supervises janitors.

Santos seemed to take his instant celebrity all in stride in the days after his death-defying plunge from the Tappan Zee Bridge. "I guess I'm crazy," he said at the time. "But when you see somebody in the water like that, hopeless, and you're afraid they're going to drown, you're going to do something to help them so that's what I did."

Fast forward a decade. "How are you going to walk by someone who's ill and just look _ 'Oh, well, I'm busy, I've got to go to work'?" Autrey said, adding that his feat was "something that all New Yorkers should do." No one knows what will happen to Autrey, but for Santos, the troubles piled up quickly. On top of losing his job, he faced a lawsuit threat from a TV network accusing him of not sticking to his "exclusive" interview contract, because everyone wanted him on the air. "My personality changed," he recalled.

Santos, now 31, still lives near the Tappan Zee Bridge, in Rockland County north of New York City, as he did when he performed his heroic deed. He works as a plumber and is engaged to be married. One afternoon when a job fell through, he visited the old firefighter friends he credits with helping him get back to normal. "They're the guys who were there for me when I went from being a superstar to being nobody, and they're still there for me now," he said, speaking by phone from the firehouse. To this day, he is "petrified of heights."

Still, he climbs the 110-foot ladder of a fire truck, "even if I'm nervous." The woman he rescued still occasionally calls him from Connecticut, where she lives.

He had some advice for Autrey: "It's going to take time, but try not to change, try to continue doing the same thing as before."