by Ava Cron

Many of us have ridden on the monorail track at Hershey Park, but on Saturday, August 30th, a 4-year-old boy panicked the many people below as he walked the monorail track.

At 5:05pm on Saturday, August 30th Hershey Park visitors were surprised when they saw a little boy on the monorail track. The 4 year old went missing when he got separated from his parents and wandered off. 20 minutes later, they found him at the top of the closed monorail track. Officials say that the area was chained off and had barricaded the turnstile at the platform. The young boy stayed at the station for 20 minutes until he started walking the track. People looked up at the track, forming around the track to guide the young boy. The noise started bothering him so he covered his ears while being overwhelmed and confused. The National Autism Association released a statement that there wasn’t an actual diagnosis but people close to the situation confirmed the kid was on the spectrum. After many people were standing around trying to figure out how to get him down, someone jumped into action. 

John Sampson, a dad from Bucks County, PA, climbed onto the roof of an ice cream stand and then climbed onto the monorail tracks. After reaching the boy and bring him down, Sampson said, “You could feel it in him, he was definitely relieved to be in my arms.” People are calling John Samspson the Hersheypark Hero. John Samspon just says, “I just think I’m a guy, who once again, at the right place, right time, saw a child in need and wanted to help. After the incident John Sampson said he heard from the parents of the boy and he was doing well. They expressed great gratitude towards Sampson and his heroism. John Sampson is a veterinarian, so now he is not only saving animals, but also humans.

Hershey Park is located in Hershey, PA, about an hour and forty eight minutes from Palisades High School. Hershey Park was constructed in 1905 after Milton Hershey created Hershey chocolate. About 9,000 people visit Hershey Park per day. 

Sources:

https://abc7ny.com

https://people.com

https://6abc.com