Man in wheelchair fell onto tracks as train approached—commuters' quick thinking sparked a dramatic rescue
A split-second decision can be life-saving in many scenarios. So when a commuter saw a man in a wheelchair whimpering on the train tracks, he immediately jumped into action. He got on the tracks to get the man out of there. However, a train was just seconds away from rolling into the station, so he had to work quickly. Other people stepped in to help him with the rescue as well. The chilling video of the incident was shared by CBS New York.
The man in the wheelchair fell on the tracks on a Wednesday and had no way of getting out of the situation. He had fallen at Union Square at around 1:15 p.m. Soon enough, the commuters noticed him after they heard whimpering sounds from the tracks. The wheelchair user was pulled out in the nick of time because of the help of bystanders at the station. One man quickly jumped on the tracks to get the person out. The disabled man tried to stand upright with the help of the tracks as the good Samaritan threw his wheelchair up on the platform first. Some people on the platform kept a lookout for the train while one person held the man's hands to help him up.
By that time, the man who had jumped in held the person by his waist and pushed him up to safety, where other people stood ready to help them. Finally, the man got out of the tracks himself. All of it happened right on time as a downtown 6 train was just 10 seconds away from arriving at the station. The commuters waited anxiously and kept looking in the direction of the train as everyone reached safely on the platform. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured in the event. The man in the wheelchair was taken to the hospital soon afterwards and treated for the minor injuries and an injured arm from the fall.
"One man jumped right into action. He didn't think twice about whether he was going to go on the tracks. I was like, people need this. There are heroes in action and I was like I'm going to wave my hand at the train and it will all be good. I hope people just take positivity away from all this," Lauren Mennen, a writer from the outlet who was present to witness the entire ordeal unfold, explained. Salenger, Sack, Kimmel & Bavaro, LLP, a law firm, explained that subway accidents were rarer than other vehicle-related accidents, but still quite common. Thousands of people are injured during such accidents and 47 people were killed between January 2021 and August 2021 in New York.
People appreciated the good samaritans who saved the day in the comments section of the video while also highlighting the gravity of such incidents and the need for action. @spiketown22l pointed out, "That's not the first time someone fell on the train tracks by accident at that station. That station is too narrow." @patminard2015 commented, "These are amazing people. They literally risked their own lives for a stranger. No greater love than this..." @pankourlaout remarked, "God bless the kind soul who jumped onto the tracks to save the wheelchair user. He deserves an award."