A New York man who was captured in a famous September 11 photo died in Florida of a coronavirus.
Stephen Cooper was 60 years old when he escaped from the collapsed south tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. He and several other men were photographed as they ran down the block, Cooper cradling a manila paper envelope under his arm.
In this Sept. 11, 2001 file photo, people flee the collapse of one of the twin towers at the World Trade Center in New York. Stephen Cooper, left, fleeing smoke and debris when the south tower collapsed just one block on September 11, died of coronavirus, his family said, according to The Palm Beach Post.
(AP Photo / Suzanne Plunkett, File)
The photo, captured by Associated Press photographer Suzanne Plunkett, appeared in magazines and newspapers around the world. Cooper stumbled across the photo of himself in an issue of Time magazine.
“I didn’t even know the picture was taken,” Janet Rashes, Cooper’s partner for 33 years, told The Palm Beach Post. “Suddenly he’s looking at Time magazine one day and he sees himself and says, ‘Oh my gosh. That’s me.’ He was amazed, he couldn’t believe it.
The Palm Beach Post published a profile on Cooper as part of its commemorative series, “The Ones We Lost,” after learning that he died on March 28 of coronavirus. Cooper, who was 78, lived part-time in the Delray Beach area.
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On September 11, Cooper went to the World Trade Center to deliver some files, arriving shortly after the planes had already attacked. As he approached, a police officer said, “You have to run.”
Moments later, the tower collapsed, raising a cloud of dust and debris that can be seen in the background of the photo. Cooper fled to a nearby subway station.
Susan Gould, a longtime friend of Copper, said she shrugged a copy of the photo, laminated it, and kept it in her wallet.
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Last year Cooper fell and suffered related health problems, and finally needed brain surgery in October. He spent more than two months in hospital or in rehabilitation afterward.
When he settled in an apartment west of Delray Beach, he began to experience symptoms of coronavirus, but was instead diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
“At the time, there was talk of the coronavirus, but people in the hospital were not wearing masks,” Rashes said. ″ (The paramedics) picked him up on March 23. That was the last time I saw him “.
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He died five days later.
Cooper’s profile can be read in its entirety on the Palm Beach Post website.
