On the morning of September 11, 2001, Caroline Dries was a student at New York University (NYU) residing on a high floor at 200 Water Street in Lower Manhattan with her roommate, Megan. Awakened at 8:46 a.m. by the sound of American Airlines Flight 11 hitting the North Tower, Dries began filming with a handheld camcorder she had bought just a week earlier.
The camera captured the raw real-time reactions of Dries and her dorm mates. At 9:03 a.m., while zooming in on falling debris and people jumping from the North Tower, United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower live on camera. The shocking moment led to panicked reactions as the students realized it was an intentional attack rather than an accident.
Horrified, Dries and her roommate briefly fled into the street but returned to their dorm room due to confusion and chaos outside. Her video later captured the collapse of the South Tower at 9:59 a.m.
Dries held onto the raw tapes for nearly a decade, finding it difficult to process the gravity of what she had captured, which included heartbreaking details like victims falling from the towers. She eventually shared her story and footage publicly around the 10th anniversary of the attacks on programs for networks like the CNN Student Footage Interview and The History Channel.
Dries later pursued a highly successful career in television, working as a writer and executive producer on major series including Smallville, The Vampire Diaries, and creating Batwoman for The CW. Despite her Hollywood success, she has noted that the raw 9/11 tape remains the most significant and compelling piece of film she will ever be a part of.
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