Katie Wenszell was so passionate about teaching, that she was planning a move to China to teach English, her father said. Now, the 28-year-old remains in a medically-induced coma after her heroic act Sunday to save her mother’s life left her critically injured.
Wenszell, her mother, and four of her sisters, from Milwaukee, had planned a long weekend of shopping and sightseeing in Atlanta when the unthinkable happened. A stranger pushed Sue Wenszell into the path of moving MARTA train as she and her daughters were heading back to their hotel.
Sue Wenszell fell, hitting her head on the track, her husband, Jerry, told WSB Radio. Instinctively, Katie Wenszell jumped from the platform to help her mother.
“Had Katie not jumped down, her head was in line of sight of the train,” Jerry Wenszell said.
Katie used her body to cover her mother’s and moved both of them between the two tracks, likely saving her mother’s life. Sue sustained a concussion and broken bones in her elbow and wrist, but Katie’s injuries were much more serious.
“Katie took the brunt of it all,” her father said. “She was not only struck, but also dragged.”
Katie’s sisters believe the backpack she was wearing got caught on the train and it dragged her, crushing her right foot and severing two toes. Katie was knocked unconscious, and at the hospital, doctors found she had swelling on her brain, a punctured lung and shattered bones in her shoulder. At least eight bones in her face were also shattered or fractured, her father said.
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At the hospital, doctors were forced to remove additional toes from Katie’s right foot. She remained Thursday in critical condition and in a coma. Late Wednesday, Jerry Wenszell said he and a son would be driving to Atlanta to oversee Katie’s care and allow his daughters, who have been at her bedside, to return home.
Sue Wenszell was treated and released from the hospital and planned to return home to Milwaukee to continue her recovery.
The man accused of pushing Sue, Christopher Patrick Brooklin, was being held without bond Thursday at the Fulton County jail. Brooklin, 28, was charged with aggravated assault and battery, according to MARTA police. A second woman later reported Brooklin had also pushed her earlier the same day, but she was not seriously injured. Police charged Brooklin with an additional charge of simple battery for the earlier assault.
According to jail records, Brooklin was released six days before he allegedly pushed Wenszell. Details of his previous case were not available late Thursday.
Jerry Wenszell said despite the serious injuries his wife and daughter sustained, his family has been overwhelmed by offers of support. He even thanked people in Atlanta for coming to his family’s aid. A Go Fund Me page had raised nearly $60,000 by Thursday afternoon.
“I’m not happy with the tragedy obviously,” he said. “But the outpouring of the people gives absolute hope that there is goodness in humanity and that’s where we’re going.”
