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9/11 Survivor: A Mariah Carey CD Saved My Life
10 Sep
Summary
- A last-minute CD purchase placed her away from the towers.
- She was at the mall connecting the Twin Towers when the first plane hit.
- Botkin fled New York City two months after the attacks.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, Sara Botkin, then 24, made a fateful stop at a Sam Goody store in the World Trade Center mall to buy a signed Mariah Carey CD. This decision proved life-saving as she was waiting for an elevator when the first plane hit the North Tower.
Botkin was able to evacuate the complex before her office building, the South Tower, was struck by the second plane. The sounds of the crash and the ensuing panic led her to leave the site. She later learned from her mother that her tower had collapsed.
Two months after the attacks, Botkin moved from New York City to Pittsburgh with her then-boyfriend, who proposed shortly after. Botkin, now 49, is a mother of three and president of Botkin Family Wealth Management.
She continues to feel gratitude for her survival and deep sorrow for the nearly 3,000 lives lost, including 176 from her former company, Aon Corporation. Botkin shares her experience annually with her children.
