A man dressed as Spider-Man assisted a person in a wheelchair across a busy six-lane street in Jonesboro, Arkansas, on Tuesday. The man, identified as Christopher Hellenthal, was on his way from a superhero-themed event when he saw the individual struggling to cross the roadway.
Hellenthal, 20, stopped his Jeep at a traffic light and proceeded to help the person in the wheelchair. He quickly moved them to safety just seconds before the light changed and traffic resumed. The act was captured by a street security camera and later shared by the Jonesboro Police Department on social media.
"I had a bunch of adrenaline pumping through me," Hellenthal told The Associated Press. "I was just kind of thinking, ‘I’m wearing this suit; it’s gonna be pretty funny.’"
Police spokesperson Sally Smith noted the unusual nature of the event, stating, "Not in my 7 years in the department have I witnessed this." The individual in the wheelchair was not identified by name.
Hellenthal, a resident of Lake City, expressed his lifelong admiration for Spider-Man and shared that he had previously met Stan Lee, the late co-creator of Marvel superheroes. Packy Magel, a manager at the Ultimate Air Trampoline Park where Hellenthal works, confirmed that the act was characteristic of Hellenthal's personality, even while in costume.