Man breaks school window to save 24 people from Buffalo snowstorm

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
2 Jan 10:13

The apology note that Jay wrote leaves hundreds of hearts grateful and happy for the actions of one man in one of the worst storms of this generation.

Snowstorm in Buffalo, NY (AP)

Cheektowaga Police arrived at Edge Academy, a school in Buffalo, New York, to find that one of the windows was broken and a note was left - an apology note.

The note started with the writer apologizing for borrowing the snow blower to rescue people who were stuck in their cars without gas. “Got stuck at 8 p.m. Friday and slept in my truck with two strangers. Just trying not to die.”

The note continued: “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.” Officers were able to pull surveillance footage, and expressed on their Facebook page: “We witnessed people taking care of people,”

The writer, who goes by the name of Jay, went out into the storm and saved 24 people stuck outside and brought them into the school along with two dogs. They were able to survive inside after Jay located granola bars, water, and blankets in the nurse's office, alongside apples, juice, and cereal from the kitchen.

“When they were finally able to leave safely, you never would have known anyone was there,” said the police on Facebook. “This group of amazing people cleaned up all the tables… and the building they found shelter in," adding: “There was a freezer full of food but no one touched it. They only ate what was necessary to stay alive.

Local police were eager to find out who Jay is, to praise him for “actions that one-hundred-percent saved lives”. Because of 27-year-old Jay Withey, police saw that "people are still alive" and Sandy Black was one of them, as she said, “It was an ordeal but thanks to Jay we all had a place to stay warm.”

Jay Withey, seen here with some of the people he rescued (Cheektowaga Police Department)

In an interview with ABC News, Jay expressed: “I’m just grateful that I had the opportunity, and I had the will to do it,” the school, surely, declined to press charges for the snowblower and broken window.

“The selflessness that people showed to help others during the storm is what Western NY is really made of,” local police stated.

At least 60 Americans have died in the "once-in-a-lifetime" blizzard, including 34 in New York's Erie County, officials said on Friday.