Milwaukee resident Katie Wenszell, 28 (shown above), is being hailed a hero “in every sense of the word” after risking her life to save her mother in a freak Atlanta, Georgia, train platform attack on Tuesday.

Wenszell remains in critical condition at an area hospital after her act of bravery.

Katie Wenszell, together with her four sisters and her mother, Sue Wenszell, was sightseeing in Atlanta when Christopher Patrick Brooklin, 28, allegedly pushed the mom without provocation at the Midtown MARTA station.

That’s according to reporting from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC).

Without hesitation, Katie Wenszell jumped down and pulled her unconscious mother out of the way of an oncoming train — suffering devastating injuries as a result.

Wenszell has since undergone multiple surgeries. She had part of her right foot amputated and was undergoing facial reconstruction surgery, her father, Jerry Wenszell, told WSB-TV.

“Swelling on the brain,” Jerry Wenszell said of her head injury. “They had to drill a hole in her head to relieve the pressure.”

He added, “Had Katie not jumped onto the tracks, Sue would not be here. My wife would have been coming home in a box, quite literally.”

See the below video in the tweet here (warning, some images may be disturbing):

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Katie Wenszell remains at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.

Mother Sue Wenszell suffered a concussion, a fractured elbow, and a hairline fracture, according to WSB-TV.

In the meantime, a GoFundMe page has been set up to help pay for Katie Wenszell’s medical expenses.

As of Wednesday morning, nearly $19,000 in donations had been collected, eclipsing the $5,000 fundraising goal.

The man accused of pushing Sue Wenszell is now behind bars in the Fulton County Jail on charges of aggravated assault and battery, MARTA police told AJC.com.

Witnesses at the MARTA station gave their harrowing accounts of what happened as reported by FOX 5 Atlanta.

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“I saw her legs dangling, and she was crying for mercy … it’s sickening,” one witness told FOX 5 Atlanta. “So she gets dragged a good little distance. For about 10 minutes, we’re sitting there, not knowing if she’s dead or alive.”

Another witness said, “We were downstairs, and a man just stared punching people, just going crazy … He was punching everybody — he hit the girl in the back of the head for no reason,” to WGCL-TV.

See more on the terrifying incident in the video below.

Elizabeth Economou is a former CNBC staff writer and adjunct professor. Follow her on Twitter.