A decision to buy a Mariah Carey CD before work ended up saving Sara Botkin’s life on September 11, 2001, after it kept her on the ground floor of the World Trade Center when the first plane struck. Interestingly, this event would later become part of the Mariah Carey 9/11 story for Botkin and her family.
According to PEOPLE, Botkin, then 24, had stopped at a Sam Goody store beneath the Twin Towers to purchase Carey’s newly released Glitter soundtrack before heading to her temporary job on the 105th floor of the south tower. The decision was an unexpected twist in the whole Mariah Carey 9/11 story, as her music delayed Botkin’s normal routine and put her out of harm’s way.
“I was standing in line for the elevator, holding my new Glitter CD, when the first plane hit,” Botkin recalled.
She initially heard a loud crash but did not immediately understand what had happened. Security officials reportedly advised people to remain inside, saying the south tower was secure.
Botkin, however, decided to leave after seeing two men push past a security guard and head outside.
“I thought, ‘All right, I’m going to leave, too,’” she said.
CD purchase changes her fate
Once outside, Botkin looked up and saw smoke pouring from the north tower.
Still unaware of the scale of the attack, she boarded the subway and began making her way back towards Queens.
It was only later, while travelling on an above-ground section of the journey, that she saw both towers engulfed in flames.
Meanwhile, her family had been desperately trying to contact her.
When Botkin eventually called her father’s office in Pittsburgh, the receptionist immediately shouted that Sara was on the phone because relatives had feared she was inside the building.
Back at her apartment, she discovered several emotional messages from her mother begging her to confirm that she was alive.
Her mother later broke the news that the south tower, where Botkin had been due to work, had collapsed.
Boyfriend believed she had died
Botkin’s then-boyfriend, Ovi, also feared she had been killed until he received confirmation from her mother that she was safe.
He proposed when they saw each other two weeks later.
“9/11 definitely sped up our relationship,” Botkin said.
The couple married on December 8, 2001, and remain together 25 years later. They now have three children.
Botkin later learned that 176 employees of Aon Corporation, the company where she was working temporarily, were killed in the attacks.
Carey sends signed CD
Days after the attacks, Mariah Carey learned about Botkin’s story and sent her a signed CD and photograph. The experience clearly connects her life to the Mariah Carey 9/11 narrative in a unique way.
Botkin still owns the album that delayed her journey to the 105th floor, although she rarely listens to it.
“I remember thinking life will never be the same. Who’s going to ever care about pop music anymore?” she recalled.
Now 49, Botkin said the anniversary continues to bring a mixture of gratitude and sadness. Furthermore, the Mariah Carey 9/11 memory has left an indelible impact on her views about fate and chance.
“Their lives wouldn’t exist if I would not have made it out that day,” she said of her three children.
“I feel gratitude, I feel lucky, and I feel deep sorrow for the people whose lives have never been the same since that day.”
