Triangle man and woman recall chaos of being in NYC on 9-11

Keith Smith and Diana Santos can remember the sounds and scenes of chaos from 20 years ago. Both of them told WRAL it’s hard reliving those moments every year when this date comes around. For them, the 20th anniversary brings release.

Santos recalls seeing the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks as a first responder. She told WRAL it’s a moment she’ll never forget. Saturday, she finally felt comfortable enough to share her story.

At an event in Durham on Saturday, recruiters got to learn from Durham Police Department about being a first responder and the importance of choosing self-sacrifice for the good of strangers. Santos, who responded to the 9/11 attacks said it’s what she signed up to do.

"We were in shock," said Santos. "We immediately thought pilot error."

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Santos remembers the moment she saw a hijacked plane hit the World Trade Center’s North Tower. She served as an auxiliary police officer for New York City's Police Department. Officers with the program are trained to observe and report out-of-ordinary conditions.

"Upon driving more down the street and seeing the second one hit, I knew what that meant because of my training with NYPD," Santos said. "It meant that it was an attack."

Santos immediately went into uniform and tried helping in anyway possible.

"A lot of civilians, trying to keep them calm, trying to get them away from the area without knowing," she remembers. "I came home covered in soot from head to toe."

Santos spent nearly 10 years as a volunteer officer for NYPD. She says it’s fitting for public safety officers in Durham to hold a recruitment event, seeking people who want to protect and serve their communities.

"If you really want to volunteer and just give of yourself unselfishly, please don’t hesitate, you’ll never, ever regret it," she said.

Santos didn’t get paid doing the job but loved doing it out of the kindness of her heart.

Smith, meanwhile, lives in Durham now, but remembers that day vividly.

"It sounded like an elevator going up the side of a building. Then it was a dark-like shadow...then you heard plane number one smack into the tower," Smith said.

Smith was working in the finance industry. His building was next to the World Trade Center towers. He was also there in 1993 when a parking garage at the towers was bombed.

"Every year that they illuminate those beams, that touches me," Smith said. "That reminds me of the souls that went on and yes, I could have been one of those souls."

Both Santos and Smith say it’s important that future generations continue to learn about the significance of this day.