Captain Harrisburg to the Rescue!

From playing superhero to becoming a superhero in real life

- Eric Raskin

IF TIMOTHY WHITE JR. were Captain America, perhaps one fling of the superhero's trademark shield could have saved the day. But this was real life. And though White has dressed up as Captain America for conventions, parades and the local Anti-Bullying Superhero Day, when he spotted trouble on this September afternoon he wasn't wearing his costume and couldn't fall back on any superpowers.

It was rush hour in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. White, 38, was driving home from the nonprofit he and his mother run called AMiracle4Sure, which helps formerly incarcerated individuals reenter society. He noticed a gray Nissan four-door pickup on the opposite side of the two-lane street. It was hard to miss, since it was swerving and careening into the curb before course-correcting, only to careen into the curb again.

As the pickup drew closer, White got a good look at the problem: The driver appeared to be asleep. Pretty soon, this guy's going to crash into a house and kill himself or somebody else, White thought.