Arkansas Spider-Man rescue caught on traffic camera
A Jonesboro traffic camera showed Christopher Hellenthal, dressed for super hero day at work, helping a wheelchair user cross a busy intersection.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
3 min read
An Arkansas Spider-Man rescue was caught by a traffic camera in Jonesboro, where a man dressed as the Marvel hero jumped out of a stopped vehicle to help a wheelchair user finish crossing a busy intersection, according to video shared by the Jonesboro Police Department.
The clip, posted by police on social media, shows the wheelchair user having trouble getting across the road while traffic waits. A vehicle is stopped at a red light nearby, and the costumed driver climbs out from the driver’s side.
The man in the Spider-Man suit then hurries over and helps the person in the wheelchair move across the intersection. The assist is quick, and according to the man later identified in the costume, there was a practical reason for the speed: the light had changed just as he was getting out.
Who was the man in the Spider-Man costume?
The man was identified as Christopher Hellenthal, WREG-TV reported. He told the station he had been wearing the costume for super hero day at his job at Ultimate Air Trampoline Park.
Hellenthal told WREG-TV that the moment felt obvious once he saw what was happening. “I was like, ‘All right, I’m in the Spider-Man suit; let’s do this,’” he said.
He said he moved fast because the intersection was active and the signal had changed. “So I just got out and sped them along real fast, so none of us got hit, and everyone was really nice,” Hellenthal told WREG-TV. “There was no honking or nothing like that. I just got my vehicle, and I drove off.”
How did the video spread?
Hellenthal told WREG-TV he did not know the moment had taken off online until his mother spotted the police department’s Facebook post. He said he had been asleep when she woke him with the news that he was on Facebook.
After seeing that the Jonesboro Police Department had posted the video, Hellenthal said he and his family kept checking back as the attention grew. He told WREG-TV they watched as the likes and comments kept climbing.
The clip gave Jonesboro a blink-and-you-miss-it superhero moment, minus the movie set. The camera, the costume and the timing turned an ordinary intersection into a viral save.
Hellenthal said he did not expect the video to get so much attention. He told WREG-TV he was glad people were seeing it and hoped it would encourage others to act when help is needed.
“I hope that people, whether they’re being watched or not, will step up and do the right thing whenever the time calls for it,” he said.
This story draws on original reporting from UPI.