Man Who Rescued Child Walking on Narrow Track at Hersheypark Credits 'Dad Strength'

"A visitor to a popular amusement park became an unexpected hero when he saved a young boy who walked atop a monorail about 20 feet above the ground. John Sampson is a veterinarian and father of three from the suburbs of Philadelphia who was at Hersheypark on Aug. 30 when he spotted the boy walking along the track of the monorail, which was not in operation."

""On the side of it there's a fence. And then I climbed up on that, balanced on that, climbed up on the roof from there, and then it was a straight shot from there," he said, crediting his physical effort to "dad strength." A few moments after Sampson got onto the track, he picked up the boy and returned to the ground. He said the child felt an immediate sense of relief."

""While our team was actively searching, the child entered a secured area for the monorail, which was not in operation," the park said in a statement to NBC News. "The ride was closed and safeguarded by a chained closure at the entrance and barricaded turnstile at the platform.""

John Sampson, a veterinarian and father of three, rescued a young boy walking along an inactive monorail track about 20 feet above the ground at Hersheypark on Aug. 30. Sampson climbed an ice cream stand, balanced on a fence and roof, reached the track, picked up the boy and returned him to the ground. The child immediately relaxed and clung to Sampson. The boy had become separated from his parents, who reported him missing, and entered a secured, nonoperational monorail area that was closed and barricaded. Sampson described his action as a parental instinct rather than heroism.

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