Man Hears Girl's Cries for Help, Looks Down Sewer To See Her Trapped Below
Walking to school by yourself as a child is an exciting experience. It’s a thrill to experience your first taste of freedom while breathing in the fresh air as you make your way to class.
But for 12-year-old Grace Knox, her walk to school last October was one that she would never forget.
That morning in Buffalo, New York, Grace was unusually walking to school alone, as her younger brother was sick at home.
On her route, she fell down a 12-foot-deep sewer manhole that was left uncovered on South Legion Drive.
She was stuck in a foot of rushing water and her cellphone broke during the fall, so all she could do was cry for help. She screamed for almost an hour, hoping someone would hear her and come to her aid.
Thankfully, a retired engineer and grandfather, George Bankowski, heard young Grace’s cries on his morning stroll.
It took him a while to find the source of the calls, but after noticing the broken cellphone on the sidewalk, he soon realized that they were coming from the manhole.
“I could hear a voice below saying, ‘Help me! Help me! Call my mommy!’ So I stuck my head in the hole and sure enough there was a little girl laying on the bottom of the pipe,” Bankowski said.
Bankowski reacted quickly and called for help, then tried to keep Grace calm as they waited for the arrival of the firefighters.
“It was a hard pill for me to swallow,” Bankowski said. “I cried after.”
The firefighters were able to pull Grace out, and she was taken to Women and Children’s Hospital. She suffered from a shattered right ankle and ended up having surgery to place pins in it.
Bankowski visited her soon after the surgery with a gift and his number, letting her know that she could call him anytime.
Grace’s parents were very grateful for Bankowski and his actions. When asked if he was a hero, Bankowski responded in a respectfully humble manner.
“I’m not a hero. Not by a long shot,” he said.
While he may deny it, Grace and her parents will always be appreciative of this man’s heroic deed and his kind heart.
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