Jonesboro, AR – Jonesboro Right Now – Spider-Man swung in from New York to Jonesboro on Tuesday to help a person in a wheelchair cross a busy intersection.
A Facebook post from the Jonesboro Police Department showed a person in a wheelchair crossing the pedestrian intersection at Caraway Road and Highland Drive. The man appeared to struggle when Spider-Man hopped out of his Jeep to aid him.
Spider-Man helped the man to the end of the intersection before returning to his car. He had been working Superhero Day at Ultimate Air Trampoline Park and had just left.
Jonesboro’s Spider-Man, known in real life as Christopher Hellenthal, wears his costume to several events for kids. He noted during his interview with JRN that he will wear it while driving to “get a kick out of people.”
While driving to Kroger, Hellenthal saw the man struggling to cross the intersection.
“I was a little bit hesitant at first, but I was like, ‘Man, I’m wearing this suit, everyone’s gonna think I’m a little dork,'” he said. “But I got out and I went up to him. I said, ‘Don’t worry, I got you.’ And I grabbed a hold of his wheelchair, and I put him somewhere where he’d be safe, out of traffic.”
Hellenthal, who is from Lake City, said he went home afterward and took a nap. He woke up to his mom showing him that JPD had posted the video on its social media, where, at the time of this writing, it has garnered nearly 50,000 reactions.
“Some people say cops are heroes, but even we need a little helping hand,” the post accompanying the video said. “Thank you, sir, for helping this gentleman reach his destination safely. Whether it’s a red light or green light, there is always time to do what’s right!”
Since then, both local and national media outlets, including the New York Times and Good Morning America, and even some international outlets, have interviewed him.
“This kind of stuff just doesn’t happen. I’m pretty quiet, I keep to myself, I keep a small group of people around me, and then all of a sudden, I got all sorts of people, and millions of people who know who I am now. It’s just crazy,” Hellenthal said.
Hellenthal has worked at Ultimate Air for three years. The business’s assistant manager, Packy Magel, said Hellenthal, a huge Spider-Man fan, wears the costume for various kid events the trampoline park hosts.
“He just happened to be in the right place at the right time,” Magel said. “He’s just a good kid, and that’s just like him to help somebody.”
Hellenthal said even after everything dies down, he’s still going to be “NEA Spidey” has much as he can be.
“We’re just gonna see where this takes me,” he said. “We’re just gonna keep doing good out there.”
UPDATE: This article was updated to include an interview with Northeast Arkansas’s Spider-Man.
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