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People Stranded In New York Snowstorm Survive By Breaking Into School Building [1]
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Date: 2022-12-30
To Whomever It May Concern, Im Terribly Sorry about Breaking the school window & For Breaking in the kitchen. Got Stuck at 8pm Friday and slept in My Truck with Two Strangers Just Trying not to Die. There were 7 Elderly people also stuck and out of Fuel. I had to do It to save everyone and Get them Shelter and Food and a Bathroom. Merry Christmas Jay
During the recent blizzard in New York, Jay Withey of Cheektowaga, New York, received a phone call from a friend who was stranded in the snowstorm. He went out to rescue his friend, and got stuck himself. Others who were also stranded sheltered in his truck until the fuel ran out.
They were in an area that the police and emergency crews were unable to reach, according to the local police chief. Withey had knocked on doors of several homes and offered to pay for shelter for the night. No one had accepted the offers.
They recognized a nearby school, and decided to go there. Withey broke a window to get into the school and open the door to let the others in. With the door open, he went out again and found more people stuck in the storm and brought them into the school.
Between ten and twenty people (news reports do not agree on the number) — and two dogs — ultimately found safety in the school building. They found food in the cafeteria and slept on mats in the gym of Pine Hill School in Erie County, New York.
Cheektowaga Police Chief Gould called it a heroic act and credited Withey with saving lives in the storm.
After the rescue, police worked to find the hero who became known as “Merry Christmas Jay.” Survelliance video from the school was posted on social media to find the man who had gone through the snow, knocking on car windows to bring people into the school out of the storm.
Police responded to the school as soon as they could, and took a photo of the group. Withey has been interviewed by local media, and the group plans to get together for a celebration next summer.
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