PEORIA, Ill. – A Bradley University graduate is recalling his close call with the tragic events of September 11th.
Rockford-native Michael Copping says he picked Bradley because he wanted to attend a mid-sized school that was not too far away from home. He started in engineering, but graduated with a marketing degree at Bradley.
Copping moved to New York City in April of 2001 for his job with Prime Media. He lived on John St. on the southern tip of Manhattan, and was three blocks away from the World Trade Center.
Copping tells WMBD’s “The Phil Luciano Show” that his morning routine to take him to work would be a walk of around 15-20 minutes, and by the Twin Towers at around 8:30 A.M. He says sometimes if the weather was not great, he would take the subway.
On September 11th, 2001, Copping left for work about an hour earlier that day, due to jetlag from a vacation, and as well as catching up on emails in the office.
His modified schedule that day meant that Copping would already be in the office when the first plane struck the Twin Towers, instead of walking to work as it happened.
“I realized that, had I done my normal schedule, I could have very likely been there when the first plane hit,” Copping said. “I walk literally between the two towers, so I could have literally been hit by something, had I gone during my normal time.”
Copping says he first received word of the strikes from a person in Peoria calling him to go see the towers. What Copping saw was smoke billowing out from part of the north tower, and unsure what happened.
Before the South Tower was struck, people were asking what had happened, with some thinking a small plane had hit the building. Copping recalls seeing the second plane do a hard turn into the tower and exploding.
Copping says coming in early to work that day avoided what was one of the “closest calls” of his life.
“I’ve thought about it many, many times how interesting and fortunate the events were that allowed me to not be in harm’s way when those planes hit, and just incredibly thankful to have made it through,” Copping said.
Copping recalls security in the building he worked in telling them to stay put, with the ventilation system shut down to prevent dust and debris from coming inside.
In the aftermath, Copping says he was “basically homeless.” Because his residence was in an area no one was allowed to get to, a colleague invited him to stay in a spare room. Eventually, Copping took a train to relatives in Vermont, staying and working there for six weeks until he could come back home.
Overall, Copping says everyone in the moment knew it was a generational event that changed the world.
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