Sept. 11, 2002 Photo Gallery

        Kyle Crager was walking to the printer to pick up copies of a spreadsheet when he found himself struggling to stand as the building surged to the south and then violently whipped back upright.

        It was Sept. 11 and he was in his office was on the 71st floor in the north tower of the World Trade Center.

        Mr. Crager told his story Wednesday to 2,000 students and others at Ryle High School in Union.

Kyle Crager talks to students at Ryle High School Wednesday (Patrick Reddy photo) | ZOOM |

        He said his first thought was: “We're going down.”

        After locating his 17 employees at Crestone, which managed the computer system for the Port Authority of New York, he headed down 142 flights of stairs.

        In the 52 minutes it took him to reach the ground floor, he prayed for his wife, Kim, and their children. He prayed for others running down the stairs. And he thanked God for his many blessings.

        Once outside, he sent a quick e-mail to his wife via his pager: “I'm OK. Kyle.” The 35-year-old Morehead, Ky., native, now a senior systems manager for Convergys in Cincinnati, said the family decided in April to move back to Kentucky. He took a pay cut, moved closer to his parents, and spends more time with his wife and kids.

        The speech moved senior Melissa Kasey to tears. “It was just awesome to feel united. It just really felt like we were together and feeling the same thing at the same time.”

— Earnest Winston

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