New York man jumps to save subway rider - and get to work

Related Topics

NEW YORK | Tue Nov 30, 2010 10:53am EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York grocery clerk, fearing he might be late for work, jumped onto city subway tracks to haul an injured passenger to safety after he fainted, authorities said.

The victim was taken to a local hospital after his rescue on Sunday by Carlos Flores, who said he leaped to save the man so he would not be late for work.

"I was thinking, if he gets hit I can't go to work. It's Sunday. I can't miss out. It's a time-and-a-half day," Flores was quoted as saying in the New York Daily News.

A Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokeswoman said the incident, while heroic, was dangerous.

"We do not recommend that people jump down to the roadbed," spokeswoman Deirdre Parker said on Monday.

The subway's third rail pumps 600 volts of electrical current, and climbing back onto the platform from the tracks is much harder than it looks, she said.

(Reporting by Basil Katz, Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Jerry Norton)

We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (11)
wolf91101 wrote:
Thank you for being you no matter what the reason, a man was saved!

Nov 30, 2010 12:30pm EST  --  Report as abuse
bobw111 wrote:
Classic greed can and apparently does encourage people to do the right thing at times…

Nov 30, 2010 1:44pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Normandy wrote:
lol @ 600 VOLTS of current

Nov 30, 2010 1:55pm EST  --  Report as abuse
This discussion is now closed. We welcome comments on our articles for a limited period after their publication.