Katie Wenszell (pictured) risked her life to save her mother during a weekend in Atlanta
The school teacher who nearly died saving her mother by jumping onto the tracks of an oncoming train has returned home from the hospital after undergoing multiple surgeries.
Katie Wenszell, 28, didn’t think twice when a stranger pushed her mother onto the tracks at Atlanta’s midtown station last month.
The Milwaukee eighth-grade teacher was vacationing with her family in Atlanta when she dived down onto the tracks and quickly moved her mother into a position that would help her avoid being killed by the oncoming train.
As she moved her unconscious mother into a straight line and laid down next to her, Katie said she wasn’t thinking about the fact she could lose her own life.
‘I looked down to see how close the train was, saw the light and just thought ‘I need to save her’ and I jumped,’ she told Inside Edition.
‘All I can remember is jumping down to save my mother.’
Now, after spending five weeks in the hospital and undergoing five surgeries, including a leg amputation and facial reconstruction, Katie is back home in Milwaukee.
‘Overall, I would say, I’m doing a lot better than I have been,’ she said. ‘I am still a fighter, as you can see with all the injuries I have had. I’m still making strides and eventually (will) live a normal life again,’ Katie told Channel 2 Action News.
Katie returned home from the hospital after five weeks and undergoing five surgeries, including a leg amputation (pictured with her mother Susan, right)
The Wenszell family were at the train station when a man pushed Katie’s mother Susan onto the tracks, rendering her unconscious with an oncoming train just moments away
Katie suffered a brain injury, had her shoulder torn apart and lost toes. Her necklace got caught, with the resulting cut only just missing her carotid artery and her windpipe (pictured)
While her mother Susan escaped with minor injuries, Katie was not able to clear the train in time and nearly died.
She flat-lined in the ambulance, had her toes amputated, three plated placed into her head and pins now hold her shoulder together.
The young teacher’s necklace was caught in the train, resulting in a deep cut to her neck, which miraculously avoided her windpipe and carotid artery.
Her mother suffered only a concussion, a fractured elbow and a hairline fracture from being pushed onto the tracks. She was treated in hospital and later released.
Despite her selfless actions, which nearly took her life, Katie says she’s no hero – just a devoted daughter.
‘I’m not a hero,’ she said.
‘I did what any other daughter would have done for a mother they absolutely love.’
The man who pushed Susan is identified as Christopher Patrick Brooklin, 28.
He has been arrested and charged with aggravated assault and battery in a public transit station. Brooklin appeared to have ‘some diminished mental capacity,’ according to police.
Katie says in the moment, she was only thinking of saving her mother’s life, and denies she is a hero
Katie’s father, Jerry Wenszell, earlier said Katie was definitely a hero. He told Inside Edition he couldn’t believe neither of the women died, or were electrocuted by the rail.
Police arrested Christopher Patrick Brooklin (pictured), 28, over the attack
‘Had Katie not jumped onto the tracks, Sue would not be here. My wife would have been coming home in a box, quite literally,’ Jerry told Channel 2 Action News.
Jerry and Susan had been in Atlanta with their five daughters for a weekend trip away from their home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, when Susan was pushed.
They were heading back to their hotel when Brooklin pushed her for no apparent reason.
‘There was no eye contact, verbal contact, nothing,’ Jerry said of his wife’s attacker. ‘The man just pushed her.’
Katie’s family have set up a GoFundMe page to help raise funds for medical treatment, surgery, and therapy. The family said they were looking for $5,000 but donations have already surpassed $100,000.
Katie was taken to hospital after the attack on her mother (pictured) with serious injuries
Katie’s father Jerry says there is no way his wife would be alive if not for his daughter’s quick thinking