SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Thursday marks the 24th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the deadliest terrorist event in U.S. history, which a Bay Area woman, Karim Salgado, witnessed firsthand in New York City.
Karim Salgado, originally from San Francisco, was in New York with her best friend, Elisa, and Elisa’s mother on Sept. 11, 2001. They were on their way to the World Trade Center for breakfast at Windows of the World, invited by friends they had met just days before.
“You go on a trip not thinking this is going to change your life forever, and this one did,” Salgado recalled of her experience.
Salgado and Elisa were walking toward the Twin Towers when they saw the first plane crash into one of the buildings. “When the first plane hit, everybody is like, ‘OMG horrible accident, what’s going on,’ second plane… we’re under attack,” Salgado said.
The group narrowly avoided being on Flight 93, one of the hijacked planes that crashed in Pennsylvania, as they had changed their flight plans.
Salgado described the chaos and fear of that day, including the moment when cell phones stopped working, leaving them unable to contact Elisa’s mother. “I remember calling my mom, because now we’re under attack, and I just told her, ‘If I don’t make it out here, I love you,’ and the phones died,” she said.
After witnessing the towers collapse, Salgado and Elisa made their way back to their hotel, encountering people covered in ash and others in shock. “Because we got to Columbus Circle and this lady covered in ash just grabbed me, ‘I saw them jumping out the window, I saw them jumping out the window,’ and I just hugged and I’m like, ‘OMG, what is going on,’ and she just kept repeating, ‘I saw them jumping out the window.'”
Salgado has since received therapy for survivor’s guilt and has developed a strong emotional connection to New York City. “I developed an emotional attachment to that city,” she said, noting that she has visited many times since.
Karim Salgado continues to live a full life in San Francisco, serving on the San Francisco State University Board and co-owning Legacy North Beach Bar. “I’m going to live my life to the fullest because it is definitely not guaranteed,” she said, reflecting on the impact of her experience on Sept. 11, 2001.
All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KRON4. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KRON4 staff before being published.
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