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By Hannah Mackenzie
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MARS HILL, North Carolina (WLOS) – Twenty years ago, two planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York, forever marking September 11, 2001 in history.
A woman from Mars Hill was there that day.
Shelley Willis Vergara was a liquidation consultant who was in New York on business. The 34-year-old had been hired to shut down a cosmetics store in the basement of the North Tower.
“It’s really hard to believe I was really there,” Willis Vergara recalls.
Cup of coffee in hand, Willis Vergara said she entered the office normally. She said she threw her new Tumi backpack on a desk and got down to business.
“The lights flashed, and I’m pretty sure that’s when the first plane hit,” she said.
Walking out of her office to see what was going on, Willis Vergara said the door closed behind her. His ID card and wallet were locked inside. She immediately realized that the crowded store she had recently walked through was empty.
“I looked around and thought it was really weird,” said Willis Vergara. “Then I walked around the counter and could see hundreds of people running out of the building. “
His first thought: a mass shooting.
“I kind of grabbed people, yelled at them, ‘What’s going on, what are you doing?’ There was a lady who just said, “Hey, you gotta get the effect out of the building, like right now.” So I panicked at that point, ”said Willis Vergara. “I lined up with everyone who was running and got out of the building we went to.”
On the outside, Willis Vergara’s survival story is filled with gruesome memories she has since tried to forget.
“I didn’t want to dream of people jumping out of the building,” said Willis Vergara. “I didn’t mean to dream of people on fire.”
Some of his memories haunt her more than others.
“I jumped over a lady who had fallen, and people were running over her,” Willis Vergara recalls. “I fought again because I didn’t stop to help him.”
Willis Vergara said she was in shock. The scene that unfolded like a movie in front of her was not her own life. Fortunately, she was able to call her mother, Naomi Willis, who was able to help her navigate through the crowd of panicked people.
“She was writing down where I was what time I was,” Willis Vergara said. “How many blocks had I walked and how many I had to walk.”
The phone call was cut short, however.
“When the second plane hit, the explosion was so powerful it felt like it hit my nose,” said Willis Vergara. “The buildings started to collapse, and I looked at him. I watched the towers fall.
Naomi Willis said she felt helpless not knowing what was happening to her daughter.
“I can’t even tell you. It’s like one of those times when every bit of energy in your body runs out, ”said Naomi Willis. “You just had to pray that everything would go well.”
In the street, Willis Vergara said it was chaos.
“Everyone panicked and we ran,” she said. “We didn’t know where we were running and we didn’t know where we were going. “
Willis Vergara said she didn’t stop running until she made it to her cousin’s apartment 100 blocks away.
Six months later, she got a surprise from the FBI. Her driver’s license and credit card, which she had long forgotten, had been torn from the rubble.
“These are extremely special things for me,” said Willis Vergara.
Now, framed memories are used every day as a reminder to look to the future.
“I am extremely happy that I was able to survive this,” said Willis Vergara.
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