The Southern State Parkway is a six- and sometimes eight-lane highway that winds its way through Long Island, New York. It’s not a place you’d ever take a stroll.
So, when Kurt Busch, a working underground foreman in gas construction at National Grid, noticed a young teen walking on one of the entrance ramps—as cars swerved to avoid him—he knew something was wrong. And his instinct was correct. He would later find out that the boy was autistic and had wandered away from the home where he receives care.
Busch had been on his way to a job site and had pulled over to a safe and legal area on the side of the road to take a call on his work phone. As he was talking, he saw the boy begin to stroll directly in the right lane of the busy parkway, where cars were speeding past at 55 miles per hour and faster.
Busch immediately ended his work call and dialed 911 but was routed to a busy line. So, he drove his car behind the teen and jumped out to grab the young man and move him to safety. He called 911 again and was able to explain the situation before the boy ran away from Busch along the busy parkway.
Busch raced after the boy and tried to hold him against the guardrail, away from traffic. Meanwhile, an alert had been sent out, and an undercover FBI officer who happened to be driving right past them made a U-turn to help. State troopers arrived soon after, followed by staff from the home where the boy lives. Busch later learned that even with all the traffic on the road, his was the first call to 911 about the young man in danger.
As a result of his lifesaving action, National Grid and IBEW Local 1049 recognized Busch with an award. “But I wouldn’t consider myself a hero,” he said. “I was working that day and just happened to be on the side of the road. If anybody like myself had recognized that boy was autistic, they would have done the same thing. I had to stop this kid from running into traffic before he hurt himself.”