Allahu Akbar! It sounds like something out of a movie scene!
Man saves teen who fell on NY tracks
Wednesday Jan 3 12:05 AEDT
AP - A quick-thinking New Yorker saved a teenager who fell on the subway tracks by pushing him into a trough between the rails, allowing an approaching train to pass right over both of them, police said.
Police said an 18-year-old man fell on to the tracks after experiencing a medical problem.
Commuter Wesley Autrey saw him fall, jumped down onto the tracks after him and rolled with him into the rut between the rails as a southbound train was coming in.
Autrey said he initially tried to pull the man up to the platform but had to decide whether he could get him up in time to avoid both of them getting hit.
"I just chose to dive on top of him and pin him down and pin myself down," he said.
The incident happened in a Manhattan station at 137th Street and Broadway, on the number one subway line.
The train's operator saw someone on the tracks and put the emergency brakes on.
Two cars of the train passed over the men - with about five centimetres to spare, Autrey said - before it came to a stop.
Autrey, who had his two young daughters travelling with him, refused any medical attention.
The rescued man, whose name had not been released, was taken to a local hospital.
Onlooker Patricia Brown said Autrey "needs to be recognised as a hero".
Train services on the line, which runs between the southern tip of Manhattan and the Bronx, were suspended for about 45 minutes after the incident.
Father credited with amazing 'subway save' receives honors
This man saw someone fall down onto the tracks, and having a seizure, and he jumped down, as a train approached, and held the man down, as the train passed over them.
A Good Samaritan who leaped into action and saved a man who had a seizure and collapsed onto subway tracks was honored by New York city.
Wesley Autrey doesn't see himself as a national hero. "I don't want people to blow this out of proportion." he told Good Morning America.
Autrey's phone has still been ringing off the hook as complete strangers who are so inspired by the story, are offering rewards. Autrey recently received a call from Donald Trump's people, offering a $10,000 check. On Thursday, Autrey appeared at City Hall and was honored by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg presented Autrey with the Bronze Medallion, the city's highest civic award.
Autrey was also given a year's worth of free subway rides by new MTA Executive Director and CEO Elliot Sanders. "Usually we tell our customers to stay off the tracks," Sanders said. "But in this case it's clear what Mr. Autrey did was use the right judgement. He was in the right place at the right time and did the right thing. Executives from Disney presented Autrey a trip to the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla. His two daughters, four-year-old Syshe and six-year-old Shuqui, wore Mickey Mouse hats during the ceremony.
The father of three made a risky rescue earlier this week when he jumped onto a subway track to save a 19-year-old who had fallen as a train was approaching. Looking back on his decision to jump on the tracks and push the young man into a gap between the rails, Autrey said he told himself, "Wow, you did something pretty stupid."
Waiting for a downtown Manhattan train, he saw Cameron Hollopeter, suffering from some kind of medical episode. After stumbling down the platform, Hollopeter, of Littleton, Mass., fell onto the tracks with a train on its way to the station.
Autrey, traveling with his two young daughters knew he had to do something. He then jumped onto the track and rolled with the victim into a drainage trough between the rails as the southbound number one train came into the 137th street station.
The trains operator slammed on the brakes upon seeing the two on the track. Some train cars passed over Autrey and Hollopeter with only a couple of inches to spare, but neither man suffered any harm from the incident.
Even knowing that he escaped injury and possibly death, the 50-year-old construction worker from Harlem doesn't regret his choice. "I did something to save someone's life," Autrey said.
There's no doubt about it that God will reward him. That is the best deed that anyone could give. He spared someone's life and without doubt did God proud.
Amazing story - just wondering how many of us would be willing to do the same for another person - I'm such a wimp - I'd probably pass out at the sight of someone falling into the tracks!
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It must have given them the scare of their life!
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