I just heard from a guy in my computer user group who was walking just 4 blocks away (about 1/4 mile) when the 1st tower fell. Debris and fire was falling everywhere. He ran and hid under a parked Chevy Suburban. He is over 300 pounds so it is hard to imagine. After the debris stopped coming down, someone pulled him out. The Suburban was crushed. There was thick smoke and ash in the air, you could not see. They made their way blindly into a nearby building to safety. He is now at home and OK.

I worked in the Wall St. area for 10 years. I went through the World Trade Center everyday as did millions of others. Most of the subway lines terminate or go through the World Trade Center under the street level. I have to imagine that there are easily over 1,000,000 people within 1/4 mile of the World Trade Center on any given weekday. Did you know that there is (there was!) a giant shopping mall, hundreds of stores and restaurants, below street level underneath the towers. How many perished down there not knowing what was happening above?