Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - In the height of the ferocious Buffalo blizzard before Christmas, Jay Withey, a 27-year-old mechanic, was just doing what he always does. Helping others.
The tables are now turned on Withey, and he is fielding offers of help and thanks from notable people in the community he served so heroically by breaking in to the nearby Pine Hill School in Cheektowaga and rescuing two dozen blizzard victims from the storm and providing a safe haven from the storm.
"WBEN, your radio station blew everything up," Withey said as he joined Tom Bauerle Monday for an update on how he's doing since the storm has passed and his story has been told nationally and globally.
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After Withey initially appeared on the Bauerle show, he said his phone 'blew up' with calls and texts requesting he appear on shows like 'Good Morning America' and networks like CNN, FOX and ABC. Withey says he's done at least 40 interviews since the blizzard, telling the story of how he got into the school, strategically went back out into the storm to alert stranded motorists and set up a shelter with heat, food and water inside. And when the storm finally subsided late Christmas, he fellow storm refugees returning home, Withey cleaned up the school, secured the broken window, and left a note of explanation.
We don't yet know if the Buffalo Bills will be in the Super Bowl, but we do know Jay Withey will be there, thanks to former Bill Thurman Thomas and his wife Patty.
Withey had been offered tickets to go to the Patriots game already when Thomas reached out to offer him seats. Withey declined and was invited into a suite with Thomas at the game. That was a big enough thrill for the mild-mannered Withey, but Thomas had more planned for him.
Following the game, Thomas reached out and arranged to meet Withey at his brother's welding shop on Hertel Avenue to offer him something else for serving the community. "They show up with a whole camera crew," Withey recalled. "They surprised me with two Super Bowl tickets ... my brain was just melting," he said.
The snow has long melted and Bills fever is heating up just in time for Withey to hopefully cheer on the Bills in Phoenix.
In addition to the Super Bowl tickets, Withey has received a number of offers to dinners, including from Russ Salvatore.
And then there is the possibility of a movie. Yes, a movie.
Withey fielded a call from someone associated with Hulu and said, "They're interested in making a movie or a short series on the whole situation." And there have been other inquiries from the movie industry about Jay's blizzard story.
Stay tuned for Jay's story on a tv screen or big screen near you someday as his efforts are a beacon of hope that came out of a deadly storm that will define a generation of Buffalonians.
Thank you, Jay.