Like many people, New York City Customer Services Supervisor Sandra Hecht will never forget Sept. 11, 2001.
Hecht was working at Church Street Station, across the street from the Twin Towers, when she and her co-workers heard an enormous crash at 8:46 a.m. They ran outside and saw a massive hole in the North Tower.
“My heart stopped as I watched people jumping out of the building’s windows,” Hecht said. “It was a sight so horrific and alarming that when I think of it 14 years later, it still shakes me to my core.”
At 9:03 a.m., the second plane crashed into the South Tower. “That’s when all hell broke loose,” Hecht said. “We all ran. I shouted, ‘Don’t turn around, just keep following me.’”
By the end of the day, Hecht and her group had traversed six miles through the chaotic Manhattan streets. They felt like they were running for their lives.
“We learned the meaning of support and courage that day. It’s a bond that will last forever,” Hecht said.
